Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Router Ban Plugs Into Gains

Listen below or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify

U.S. bans new foreign-made routers over security risks. (00:14) SK hynix (HXSCL) to buy $7.9B equipment from ASML. (01:20) Puig (PUIGF) stock jumps after Estée Lauder (EL) confirms merger talks. (01:57)

This is an abridged transcript.

Netgear (NTGR) is on our biggest movers list. NTGR is up 14%.

Shares surged after the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-made Wi-Fi routers to its “Covered List,” effectively banning the import of new models on national security grounds.

The FCC said in a statement that the foreign-made routers introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt US critical infrastructure.”

The move targets future devices while allowing existing inventory and installed routers to remain in use.

The impact will extend beyond Chinese players such as TP-Link, affecting U.S.-headquartered firms as well.

Companies including Netgear (NTGR), Eero (AMZN), and Google (GOOG) Nest design their products domestically but depend heavily on manufacturing bases in Asia.

SK hynix (HXSCL) is acquiring advanced production equipment valued at 12 trillion won ($7.9 billion) from Dutch company ASML (ASML), aiming to meet rising demand for memory chips.

The South Korean chipmaker announced the decision through a regulatory filing. Reports say the extreme ultraviolet scanners will be delivered by December 2027 for its next-generation production processes.

The move comes amid SK Hynix’s push to expand the production of memory chips, including high bandwidth memory, on the back of soaring demand from the artificial intelligence industry.

According to a separate report, SK Hynix (HXSCL) is seeking to raise 10 trillion won to 15 trillion won ($10 billion) from a potential listing in the US, the Korea Economic Daily reported.

The company is currently the main HBM supplier to Nvidia (NVDA), although Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and Micron (MU) supply it with smaller volumes.

Shares of Spanish beauty group Puig (PUIGF) jumped on Tuesday after Estée Lauder (EL) confirmed it is in talks about merging the two companies.

Puig (PUIGF), which is behind brands such as Rabanne and Charlotte Tilbury, has a market cap of EU8.8 billion ($10.3B). Estee Lauder has a market value of $31B.

Puig’s Spain-listed shares jumped as much as 15% on Tuesday, while Estée Lauder (EL) was up 0.6% in U.S. premarket trading.

This is the top story in the Wall Street Breakfast newsletter. Here’s a link to sign up.

What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha

OpenAI flags Microsoft dependence as key business risk ahead of expected IPO – report

Broadcom exec says Taiwan Semiconductor is reaching capacity limits – report

Crude climbs on supply worries after Iran rejects U.S. negotiation claims

Catalyst watch:

• Shareholders with Two Harbors Investment (TWO) will vote on the deal to be acquired by mortgage wholesaler UWM Holdings (UWMC).

• JFB Construction (JFB) will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis following the two-for-one stock split.

• The ShopTalk conference in Las Vegas will include a keynote from Reddit (RDDT) CEO Steve Huffman. Top execs from Wayfair (W), Stitch Fix (SFIX), Pinterest (PINS), Gap (GAP), Dutch Bros (BROS), and SharkNinja (SN) will also appear.

• MercadoLibre (MELI) will appear at a Morgan Stanley conference.

• Zillow Group (ZG) will host an investor event focused on the company’s AI innovation in real estate.

• CrowdStrike (CRWD) CEO George Kurtz will give a keynote address at the RSA security conference.

• Asure Software’s (ASUR) CEO will participate in a panel discussion on AI and Implications for Business Services and Software at the Roth Conference.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 2.5% at $90. Bitcoin is up 0.5% at $71,000. Gold is up 0.4% at $4,425.

The FTSE 100 is little changed and the DAX is down 0.2%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Outlook Therapeutics (OTLK) -25% – Shares plunged after the company announced a best-efforts public offering of common stock and accompanying warrants, with potential inclusion of pre-funded warrants.

Economic calendar:

Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.