(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

May 27 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance and Markets

The chips are indeed blue. The market scramble for AI stocks

seems to know no bounds. Memory chipmaker Micron Technology

briefly entered the $1 trillion club on Wall Street on Tuesday,

while South Korea's SK Hynix crossed that threshold on

Wednesday.

Both companies' shares are up about 10-fold over the past

year amid frenzied demand for, and ongoing shortages of, memory

chips.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, check out my latest column on why rising bond yields

could start dragging on stocks soon.

And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the

biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.

OUT OF THE BLUE CHIPS

Near-20% surges in both Micron and SK Hynix's shares this week

show the dash for chips is continuing unabated. With its latest

milestone, SK Hynix joins fellow South Korean chip giant

Samsung, which hit the $1 trillion mark earlier this month. Both

companies' shares were lifted again on Wednesday after a

landmark deal on worker bonuses for Samsung workers.

That deal averts a potentially damaging labor strike, and some

memory-chip workers will be in line for bonuses of over

$400,000. Samsung will set aside a sizeable chunk of its chip

division profits to meet the payouts. South Korea's KOSPI index

surged over 3% on Wednesday, led by Samsung and SK Hynix.

Back on Wall Street, the broader stock market optimism continued

on Tuesday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record closing

highs. Meantime, Goldman Sachs has upped its year-end forecast

for the former to 8,000 from 7,600 - a rise of about 6% - on

continued strength in corporate earnings.

U.S. stock futures climbed before the bell on Wednesday, while

European shares edged up after the open.

On the macro front, the Conference Board's index on U.S.

consumer confidence eased this month by less than feared,

marking a contrast with last week's University of Michigan

survey.

There was little new in the Iran standoff, though hopes for a

diplomatic breakthrough persisted, even as Tehran described

recent U.S. strikes as a "gross violation" of the two sides'

ceasefire. Oil prices fell by around 3% early on Wednesday,

unwinding some of Tuesday's 4% rise.

In Europe, rates markets were jarred after European Central Bank

board member Isabel Schnabel indicated that the ECB should hike

rates next month even if a U.S.-Iran peace plan is agreed.

Schnabel told Reuters that the size of the energy shock meant

"looking through" it was not an option.

Chart of the day

SK Hynix topped $1 trillion in market value for the first

time on Wednesday, while U.S.-listed Micron Technology briefly

eclipsed that threshold on Tuesday. They join Samsung

Electronics, which passed this milestone on May 6.

Shares of SK Hynix closed more than 9% higher, while Samsung

rose by 3% as it averted a worker strike. Micron's stock price

has skyrocketed more than 1,200% since early April last year.

Today's events to watch

* U.S. 5-year note auction (1 p.m. EDT), 2-year floating

rate note auction (11:30 a.m. EDT)

* U.S. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, Governor Lisa Cook

and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan all speak

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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

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committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.