Taiwan's TAIEX opened down 188.91 points, or 0.43%, at 43,465.93 on Monday, July 27.

Apacer CEO Zhang said the three major DRAM suppliers are allocating nearly all new capacity to AI-focused products (HBM, server DDR5 and LPDDR5X), cutting supply to general DDR5, DDR4 and industrial/enterprise segments. Memory-module makers now face shortages rather than price competition; supplier plans imply continued declines in DRAM volumes available to module vendors, supporting further price increases. Vendors are building inventories to avoid stockouts and must pre-buy even at higher cost. Zhang said supply tightness should remain clear through H1 2027; conditions after H2 2027 will depend on vendors' capacity expansions and AI demand.

Analysts say Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea on July 25; Tehran strongly condemned the attack and summoned Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires in Tehran. They assess Kyiv had two objectives. First, to disrupt Iranian military support for Russia: Kyiv has recently stepped up strikes on deep Russian targets—notably energy and logistics infrastructure—which analysts say have harmed Russia’s economy and civilian welfare, while Russia has responded with large-scale drone and ballistic missile attacks inside Ukraine. Second, to help U.S. efforts to pressure Iran in hopes of securing renewed U.S. support: analysts say Washington, long Kyiv’s main military backer, has since President Trump’s second term increasingly pressed Ukraine for concessions to end the conflict, and Kyiv is trying to demonstrate its value to regain U.S. backing.