Daily News – 8th June ’26
Daily News
Asia Markets Tumble as Iran-Israel Strikes Threaten Ceasefire, Nasdaq Suffers Worst Day Since April 2025
08 June 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets fell sharply Monday, led by South Korea's Kospi dropping more than 8% before paring losses, as Iran's reported missile strike on Israel over the weekend revived fears over the ceasefire's stability. The Nasdaq Composite suffered its worst session since April 2025, losing 4% amid a violent chip stock sell-off. Gold slid near $4,300 an ounce after tumbling nearly 5% last week, while WTI crude rebounded above $93 per barrel on renewed Middle East tensions.
Iran and Israel exchanged strikes as the fragile Washington-Tehran ceasefire hung in the balance, with Trump urging Netanyahu against retaliation. China's Xi Jinping departed for a two-day visit to North Korea. The U.S. eyed Iranian assets for Gulf allies' reconstruction, India and the U.S. moved toward a mid-July trade deal tranche, OpenAI announced a ChatGPT "superapp" overhaul, Marvell Technology prepared to join the S&P 500, and Anthropic called on AI labs to consider a coordinated pause in development.
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday, with South Korea's benchmark Kospi leading declines, falling more than 8% before paring losses to trade 4% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.8%, while mainland China's CSI 300 was down 1.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3.7%. The reported strike by Iran on Sunday raised fresh concerns about the stability of the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. The reported missile attack followed a post on X by Iranian Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf, who argued that the U.S. naval blockade and alleged breaches of agreements related to Lebanon constitute violations of the ceasefire.
Nasdaq falls 4% and suffers worst day since April 2025 as traders flee chip stocks
U.S. equities tumbled Friday because of a violent sell-off for chip stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 4% for its biggest decline since the tariff turmoil of early 2025. The catalyst for the chip turn this week was unclear. Some disappointment in Broadcom's failure to raise its AI chip outlook Wednesday night caused the group to lose ground on Thursday. But Friday's selling reached a new level of intensity. A spike in Treasury yields following a much stronger-than-expected jobs report for May didn't help the case.
Gold traded near $4,300 an ounce on Monday after tumbling nearly 5% last week
Gold traded near $4,300 an ounce on Monday after tumbling nearly 5% last week to its lowest level in more than two months, as renewed tensions in the Middle East drove oil prices higher and fuelled concerns about inflation and interest rates. Iran launched several rounds of missiles toward Israel in a warning against further military actions in Lebanon, though Israel's military said all the projectiles were intercepted and no casualties were reported. The prolonged conflict and the continued near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted energy supplies from the Persian Gulf, supporting higher oil prices and intensifying inflation concerns. At the same time, stronger-than-expected US employment data weighed on bullion last week by reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates later this year. Markets are now pricing in roughly a 70% chance of a Fed rate hike in December, up from around 50% before the jobs report.
WTI crude futures climbed above $93 per barrel on Monday, rebounding after two consecutive sessions of losses
WTI crude futures climbed above $93 per barrel on Monday, rebounding after two consecutive sessions of losses as Iran launched multiple rounds of missiles toward Israel, warning against further military actions in Lebanon and raising concerns over the durability of a fragile ceasefire amid stalled peace negotiations. Israel's military said all incoming missiles were intercepted, with no casualties reported. According to reports, President Donald Trump criticized Israel's strikes on Beirut and said he would urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid retaliatory action against Iran, while also calling on Tehran to resume negotiations. Meanwhile, the protracted conflict and the ongoing near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz have cut off energy supplies from the Persian Gulf, keeping oil prices elevated.
Iran and Israel exchange strikes, threatening fragile ceasefire
Iran on Sunday fired missiles at Israel, which retaliated with its own strikes as a tenuous ceasefire between Washington and Tehran hangs in the balance. The reports of missile fire from Iran come after the Iranian Parliamentary Speaker, MB Ghalibaf, said in a post to X that the U.S. "naval blockade and violation of agreements regarding Lebanon" amount to violations of the ceasefire. The White House confirmed to MS NOW that President Donald Trump has been briefed on renewed fighting after Iran fired a missile at Israel for the first time since the ceasefire began. The briefing was first reported by Axios. Axios later reported that Trump was going to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to strike back at Iran, though Israel did eventually proceed with retaliatory strikes.
China's Xi to visit North Korea for first time in seven years as Beijing tests its influence over Kim
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang is set to start on Monday, as Beijing tests its influence over a neighbor pulled increasingly into Russia's orbit. The two-day trip will be Xi's first to North Korea in nearly seven years and he is expected to hold talks with leader Kim Jong Un. In a commentary published in North Korea's state newspaper ahead of his arrival, Xi pledged "unwavering" friendship and vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple areas, including the military. Kim has sought to forge closer military and trade ties with Moscow, dispatching troops to fight in the Ukraine war while continuing to build up his nuclear capabilities in defiance of UN sanctions. That partnership has given Pyongyang new leverage, analysts said.
U.S. eyes Iranian assets for Gulf allies' reconstruction, source says
The U.S. will attempt to redirect Iranian assets to Gulf states for rebuilding and repairs of damage caused by Iran, a source familiar with the matter said, as Tehran followed up a wave of strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain with further drone launches. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damage inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran, the source said on Saturday, adding the U.S. will consider using Iranian assets for repairs of any future destruction as well. The disclosure came a day after Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told CNN that a peace deal to end the three-month-old war hinged on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen by the United States.
First tranche of US-India trade deal likely by mid-July, says India trade minister
India and the United States are moving swiftly toward finalising the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement that could be concluded by mid-July, Indians Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. The U.S. and India reached an initial understanding on a trade deal in February, but negotiations slowed after President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff measures were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. They gathered pace once more in meetings in New Delhi this week. However, on Wednesday the U.S. proposed an additional tariff of 12.5% on imports from India, saying it was among 60 economies that had failed to curb imports made with forced labour. "We had a full team of officials from different divisions of trade from the U.S. in Delhi," Goyal said. Both sides were "fast moving towards closing all the open ends" of the proposed deal, he said. The initial tranche of the agreement is expected to give India preferential trade access over competitors. "By sometime in the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very vibrant first tranche," Goyal said.
OpenAI plans ChatGPT 'superapp' overhaul ahead of listing
OpenAI is planning its biggest ChatGPT overhaul yet, aiming to turn it into a "superapp" with coding tools and AI agents to boost revenue ahead of a planned share listing, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The changes are part of a broader reorganisation at OpenAI, as it shifts resources to target lucrative enterprise clients and intensify competition with rival Anthropic, the report said, citing more than a dozen current and former employees. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Marvell to join S&P 500 after AI boom helps chipmaker pass profitability test
Marvell Technology is set to join the benchmark S&P 500 later this month, S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Friday, after the chipmaker cleared a key profitability hurdle riding an AI-fueled rally. The company will replace swimming pool equipment distributor PoolCorp on the benchmark index before the start of trading on June 22. Marvell shares jumped nearly 6% in extended trading. The inclusion comes after the company reported a GAAP profit in the three months through December and over the sum of its most recent four quarters, overcoming a key barrier that had previously kept it out. Marvell's shares have more than tripled so far this year, bolstered by a broader rally in chip stocks on hopes for robust AI-related demand.
Trump says his team will "look into" U.S. taking stake in AI companies
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters that his team is looking into the idea of AI companies giving the American public a stake in their firms. Senior U.S. officials held preliminary decisions with AI companies about the potential for the government to buy some shares in their firms, digital news outlet NOTUS reported. Trump made the comment in response to a question from a journalist about the topic. "There's something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public," he told reporters. "We'll look into that." Trump also told reporters that he will meet with AI executives at the White House "probably next week."
Anthropic urges AI labs to pause development, warns humans risk losing control
Anthropic is calling on major artificial intelligence labs to consider a coordinated and verifiable pause in development, warning that rapid advances in the technology could soon allow AI systems to improve themselves faster than society can manage the risks. The Claude creator said AI's ability to complete tasks on its own has been doubling roughly every four months and it was headed for "recursive self-improvement", the point at which the technology can improve without human intervention. "If systems are capable of fully building their own successors, the ways we secure them, monitor them, and shape their behavior all grow much more important," the startup said in a lengthy blog post on Thursday, adding that a pause would allow society to "deal with its immense implications." "We are not there yet, and recursive self-improvement is not inevitable. But it could come sooner than most institutions are prepared for," Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark and Anthropic Institute lead Marina Favaro wrote in the post.
