Stocks Hit New Record As AI Race Continues, Traders Observe U.S.-Iran Negotiations

Stocks hit a new record on Tuesday as technology shares kept pushing higher, led by Micron, which hit a $1 trillion valuation for the first time.

The former rose by 0.6%, while the latter climbed 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, in turn, lost 0.2%.

Micron led the exchanges after soaring almost 20% due to continued demand for its memory chips as the AI race continues at full steam.

CNBC detailed that the development came after UBS tripled its price target for the stock to more than $1,600 per share.

“We believe the market will start to put a more ‘normal’ multiple on the stock and MU will continue to re-rate higher as more details emerge about the structural changes AI has driven to the entire memory complex,” the Swiss bank said.

The outlet noted that Micron is among the chipmakers benefiting from the surge of AI as several companies involved in the industry continue seeing sustained demand for its products.

Micron has also been able to rise prices as a result of shortages stemming from seemingly insatiable demand.

Other chipmakers that saw gains on Tuesday were Seagate Technology and Western Digital, which climbed 4% and 8%, respectively.

Traders are also observing developments in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.

The most recent reports claim that progress is being made, but a recent flare-up has cast doubt on the process.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it has the “legitimate” right to respond to recent U.S. attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warns against any violation of the ceasefire by the aggressive US military, and considers its right to reciprocal response to be legitimate and certain,” the group said in a statement distributed in state-affiliated media.

The revolutionary guard also said it downed a U.S. drone and shot at other aircraft that had entered the country’s airspace. It did not specify when the incidents happened.

“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” said CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins in a statement.

Negotiations appear to continue in the meantime, and while both sides acknowledged progress had been made, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said there are “some issues that we have not yet finalized.”

He went on to say that work remains to be done, especially given the “frequent changes in positions and contradictions” from the Trump administration.

“The frequent changes in positions and contradictions, which do not really need me to explain and which you can simply observe by looking at tweets issued by U.S. officials, show what situation we are dealing with and under what conditions we must pursue a diplomatic process with such a counterpart,” Baghaei said.