CNBC — 2026-07-16#

Lead Story#

Despite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reporting a massive 77.4% year-over-year profit jump fueled by robust AI chip demand, the broader semiconductor sector faced a brutal sell-off today as investors questioned the sustainability of the AI rally. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF slid nearly 4% as the market rapidly rotated away from overheated tech names.

Markets & Economics#

U.S. mortgage rates hit a one-year high, pushing pending home sales down 5.4% for June in a tepid, unaffordable housing market. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh testified before the Senate Banking Committee, noting that an unexpected 0.3% drop in June wholesale prices is a welcome development, but he stressed that current gauges remain imperfect measures of underlying inflation. Taking a significantly more hawkish stance, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan explicitly called for “modestly” higher interest rates to bring inflation back to the 2% target, warning that one month of relief is simply not enough. Overseas, the Bank of Korea hiked benchmark policy rates to 2.75% to combat creeping consumer prices and a depreciating currency.