Synopsys launches $1 billion accelerated share repurchase program

According to Smart Finance APP, on Monday, Western Digital (WDC.US) surged over 7% at the opening, and Seagate Technology (STX.US) rose more than 5%. In the previous trading day, the news of Toshiba expanding its hard drive production led to a sector pullback, with both stocks dropping more than 10%. Subsequently, Morgan Stanley and Bernstein released research reports countering market panic, stating that the market had overreacted to the news of Toshiba's production expansion and that the actual impact on industry supply was limited. They noted that AI agency tasks and physical AI are driving additional storage demand, the supply-demand tension in the HDD sector will persist, and maintained their bullish ratings on Seagate and Western Digital. Among them, Morgan Stanley named Seagate as its top pick.

According to Jinse Finance, boosted by the late-summer cryptocurrency rally, the value of Strategy (MSTR.US)'s Bitcoin holdings increased, resulting in unrealized gains and marking its first profitable quarter in four quarters. The company, which is the world's largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin, reported a $21 billion gain in its digital assets in the third quarter of 2026. Bitcoin rose 43% year-on-year in the third quarter.

TSMC opened higher and is now up over 1.6%, with its share price reaching a record high. The company’s total market capitalization is close to $2.5 trillion.

South Africa's gasoline prices are set to reach a historic high as the latest wave of oil price shocks triggered by the Iran war begins to affect government-adjusted monthly fuel prices. According to an email statement from the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the price of 95-octane gasoline in Gauteng province will increase by 3.33 rand (0.20 dollars) per liter as of October 7. This price hike, which represents a 12% increase, will push gasoline prices up to a record-high 30.25 rand per liter. Wholesale diesel prices are also set to rise by up to 3.24 rand per liter. This development signals mounting global fuel price pressures, with African households likely to feel the impact more acutely. Due to the continent's reliance on road transport and insufficient public transportation, transportation expenses make up a higher proportion of household income in Africa. The rise in fuel prices could also increase pressure on the South African Reserve Bank to hike interest rates again in order to defend its 3% inflation target. Since the outbreak of the war at the end of February, sustained increases in fuel prices have pushed South Africa’s consumer price inflation up to 4.4%, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates twice so far this year.