Apple Just Gave Intel Its Comeback Trade

GOOD MORNING, The chip rally found a new catalyst Thursday. Apple agreed to work with Intel on U.S.-designed and manufactured chips, sending Intel to a record and pushing the semiconductor index up more than 6%. The deeper signal is bigger than one partnership: AI demand has stretched TSMC capacity enough that even Apple is looking for more manufacturing optionality. Meanwhile, Accenture fell more than 17% as clients kept spending on targeted AI and cybersecurity projects while broader consulting demand weakened.

---

MARKETS | TLDR

• Nasdaq jumps 1.9% as chips lead: The Nasdaq gained 1.91%, the S&P 500 rose 1.08% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 6.4%, with Intel up 10.6% after the Apple partnership news.
• Oil relief helps offset a hawkish Fed: Brent briefly fell to $76.54 as the U.S.-Iran interim agreement took effect and tankers resumed moving through Hormuz, easing part of the inflation pressure that had dominated markets.
• Markets still price another Fed hike: Traders assigned roughly a 50% probability to a 25-basis-point increase as soon as September, keeping the rates backdrop restrictive even as geopolitical risk eased.

---

CHIPS

Apple Just Gave Intel Its Comeback Trade

Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the United States, President Donald Trump said Thursday. Intel shares jumped 10.6% to a record, extending a rally that has already transformed the stock this year. The agreement would mark a significant return to Apple's supply chain for Intel after Apple moved its Macs away from Intel processors and onto internally designed silicon beginning in 2020.

The strategic logic is different this time. Apple is not abandoning its own chip designs; it is looking for more manufacturing capacity. Reuters reported that TSMC, Apple's primary foundry partner, has been stretched by surging demand from AI chipmakers including Nvidia and AMD. That makes Intel's factories more valuable even if Intel never regains its old role as the designer of Apple's processors.

For Intel, winning Apple would be more than incremental revenue. Foundry customers need confidence that a manufacturer can deliver advanced chips at scale, and a commitment from one of the world's largest electronics companies could help validate Intel's turnaround. For the broader AI trade, the deal is another second-order effect: AI demand is not only lifting Nvidia — it is reshaping who gets access to scarce semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

---

ENTERPRISE TECH

Accenture Found the AI Budget. Everything Else Got Cut.

Accenture shares fell more than 17% after the consulting giant forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations and trimmed the top end of its annual outlook. The Iran war cost its Middle East business about $400 million in the third quarter, but the weakness went beyond geopolitics: broader consulting and transformation spending remains under pressure.

The more important signal is where clients are still spending. HFS Research told Reuters that demand is becoming increasingly concentrated around targeted AI investments while traditional consulting projects are being squeezed. Accenture itself is responding by leaning harder into AI, cloud, data and cybersecurity, including $4.18 billion of acquisitions announced Thursday across industrial cybersecurity companies Dragos, runZero and NetRise.

That makes Accenture a useful read on enterprise AI adoption. Companies are not necessarily increasing technology budgets across the board; they are reallocating them toward projects with clearer cost savings, security needs or growth potential. AI can therefore be a strong spending category while still disrupting the broader firms that historically captured enterprise transformation budgets.

---

HEADLINES

• Deutsche Bank says AI is cutting project timelines from years to months: The bank says some technology projects that once took two years can now be completed in three to six months, but it is imposing token quotas to ensure usage produces measurable returns.
• SpaceX's post-IPO rally loses momentum: Shares fell more than 6% but remained over 30% above the IPO price as investors weighed a roughly $2.5 trillion valuation against an increasingly expensive AI expansion.
• SpaceX prepares at least $20 billion of debt: Bankers are preparing a bond offering after the company agreed to buy Cursor-maker Anysphere for $60 billion in stock, adding financing risk to one of the market's most aggressive AI strategies.
• BESI raises its long-term targets: The Dutch chip-equipment maker lifted revenue and margin ambitions as advanced packaging demand grows, another sign that AI infrastructure spending is benefiting less visible parts of the semiconductor supply chain.
• Jobless claims stay low enough for the Fed to focus on inflation: Initial claims fell to 226,000 while continuing claims rose to 1.81 million, suggesting layoffs remain limited even as finding a new job is taking longer.

---

UPCOMING

• Micron reports June 24: High-bandwidth memory demand and pricing will provide another direct test of whether AI infrastructure spending is still accelerating.
• New-home sales arrive June 24: Housing activity will show whether elevated mortgage rates continue to suppress demand despite resilient employment.
• GDP and PCE arrive June 25: Updated growth and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge will test whether the market's new rate-hike expectations are justified.
• U.S.-Iran negotiations remain tied to oil: The interim agreement has restarted tanker traffic through Hormuz, but doubts about the durability of the ceasefire mean crude remains a live inflation catalyst.

---

DEEP INSIGTHS

AI Cuts Tech Project Times From Years to Months at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank offers a useful real-world AI ROI case study. The bank says technology projects that previously required years are now being completed within months, but it is also rationing token usage and requiring teams to demonstrate value — a practical example of productivity gains arriving alongside a new variable cost structure.

Hormuz Reopening Could Release a Wave of Oil Supply

Reuters estimates that reopening the Strait could release tens of millions of barrels stranded in the Gulf, while Iranian barrels could add further supply if sanctions are eased. The piece is useful for understanding why the peace agreement can affect markets through much more than geopolitical sentiment: it directly changes physical oil availability, inflation expectations and refinery economics.