Daily News 6th July 26
Daily News
Asia Trades Mixed as Investors Rethink AI Plays; U.S. Futures Extend Gains After Dow Hits Record; Gold Holds Near $4,200; Crude Slips Below $69 on OPEC+ Supply Boost
06 July 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed as investors rethought AI-driven plays ahead of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes: Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% (Topix +0.2%), South Korea's Kospi lost 0.91% and the Kosdaq 1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4%, the CSI 300 added 0.2% and Australia's ASX 200 was flat. The Japanese yen traded at 161.54 per dollar after touching a 40-year low, and the Korean won eased about 0.25% to 1,532.82. U.S. futures extended gains after a strong week that drove the Dow to record highs — Dow futures added 89 points (0.17%), S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% and Nasdaq-100 futures 0.98%, with the Dow now within striking distance of the never-reached 53,000 level after climbing nearly 2% last week. Gold held near $4,200 an ounce on softer jobs data and lower oil prices, while crude slipped below $69 — near its lowest since late February — as recovering Hormuz flows and higher OPEC+ output stoked glut concerns.
In other news: OPEC+ approved another 188,000-bpd output increase for next month; the U.K. and France agreed with Oman to help secure the Strait of Hormuz; President Trump plans to meet Ukraine's Zelenskyy and Syria's al-Sharaa at the NATO summit in Turkey; Iran began a six-day funeral procession for Ayatollah Khamenei; a cargo vessel reported an attack in the Red Sea off Yemen; easyJet agreed in principle to a $7.34 billion take-private bid from Castlelake; Samsung is expected to post a roughly 18-fold profit jump on AI memory demand; SK Hynix is set to launch a ~$28 billion U.S. listing; and Uber paused most of its planned European food-delivery expansion as it pursues a Delivery Hero deal.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors rethink artificial intelligence-driven plays
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors rethink artificial intelligence-driven plays, with focus also on the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, set to be released later this week. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%, while the Topix added 0.2%. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.91%, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 1%. Chinese markets opened in the green, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbing 0.4%, while the CSI 300 added 0.2%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was flat. The Japanese yen was trading at 161.54 per U.S. dollar after weakening to a 40-year low against the greenback last week. South Korea's won depreciated around 0.25% to 1532.82 per dollar after the currency began 24-hour trading.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures extend gains after a strong week on Wall Street
Stock futures rose Sunday night following a strong week on Wall Street that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record highs. Futures tied to the 30-stock benchmark added 89 points, 0.17%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.98%. The Dow climbed nearly 2% last week, putting it within striking distance of 53,000, a level it has never reached. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also posted sharp gains last week, advancing 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively.
Gold traded near $4,200 an ounce on Monday, holding onto last week's gains
Gold traded near $4,200 an ounce on Monday, holding onto last week's gains as weaker-than-expected US jobs data and lower oil prices led traders to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Oil prices edged lower as recovering energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the prospect of increased OPEC+ supply fuelled concerns about a potential glut. That has helped ease inflationary pressures that had previously heightened fears of further rate hikes and weighed on non-yielding gold. Meanwhile, data released last week showed US nonfarm payrolls increased by just 57,000 in June, the smallest gain in four months and well below forecasts of 110,000, prompting traders to reduce their bets on a September rate hike.
Crude oil traded below $69 per barrel on Monday, hovering near its lowest levels since late February
Crude oil traded below $69 per barrel on Monday, hovering near its lowest levels since late February as recovering energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and expectations of higher OPEC+ output fuelled concerns over a potential supply glut. OPEC+ members approved another modest increase in collective production quotas for next month, with seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreeing to raise output by 188,000 barrels per day. The decision reflects the group's confidence in boosting production as conditions across the Middle East continue to stabilize. Major Persian Gulf producers have also been increasing supply, with Saudi Arabia's exports climbing close to pre-war levels, while the UAE, which left OPEC during the conflict, has likewise restored shipments.
UK and France agree with Oman to ensure safety of its territorial waters
Oman has agreed to work with the U.K. and France to ensure the Gulf country's territorial waters are safe for navigation, the U.K. said on Saturday, as oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz pick up since the U.S. and Iran signed an agreement last month to reopen the crucial sea lane. "The U.K. and France also stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron. "The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for the global economy. Restoring safe transit for ships of all nations through the Strait is a matter of global concern," the statement read. France said it has deployed mine countermeasures to the Middle East, including two mine-hunting ships.
Trump to meet with Ukraine's Zelenskyy and Syria's al-Sharaa during the NATO summit
President Donald Trump plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday while attending the NATO summit in Turkey, the White House said. Those discussions will come as Kyiv tries to refocus Trump's attention on the conflict with Moscow and as Trump has publicly mused about Syria's role in the Middle East. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly confirmed the meetings in a call with reporters while previewing the upcoming summit in Ankara, where Trump also plans to meet with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Before returning to the United States on Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to have a news conference, Kelly said.
Iran begins six-day funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei nearly four months after his death
Iran is staging a six-day funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader who led the Islamic Republic for four decades and was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war in February. The ceremony will begin on July 4, nearly four months after Khamenei was killed, and end on July 9. The procession will cover cities across Iran and Iraq before a final burial in Mashhad, Iran's holiest city. The funeral, which "will be a tightly choreographed display of mourning, continuity and regime control," Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, told CNBC, was delayed for several months due to fighting. The event is expected to draw tens of millions of mourners, and "could reveal tensions beneath the surface," Vakil added.
Cargo vessel in Red Sea reports coming under attack, UK maritime body says
A cargo vessel in the Red Sea has reported coming under attack, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, a British maritime security alert service, said Sunday, amid a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. The body said it received a report of the incident 30 nautical miles (56 km) southwest of the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen. "A cargo vessel has triggered a distress alert stating that they are under attack by unknown assailants," the UKMTO said in a post on X, adding that authorities are investigating the incident. It urged vessels to "transit with caution". Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea from 2023 through 2025 in retaliation for Israel's war in Gaza but have largely stayed out of the U.S.-Iran war.
UK budget airline easyJet ready to accept $7.3 billion takeover bid from Castlelake
British budget airline easyJet has agreed in principle to a sweetened takeover bid from U.S. investment firm Castlelake that values the carrier at up to £5.5 billion ($7.34 billion), it said on Sunday, a potential shakeup for Europe's aviation sector. The new offer at £6.90 a share represents a 73% premium to easyJet's closing price on May 29, when the private equity fund manager disclosed its interest in the airline to British regulators, driving the shares up steeply since then. The deal, which would see the U.S. investor take easyJet, a 31-year-old airline, private, coincides with operating challenges for airlines globally as they grapple with sharply higher fuel prices and profit pressure due to the Iran conflict.
Samsung likely to post 18-fold jump in profit on surging AI demand for memory
Samsung Electronics is likely to estimate that its operating profit jumped about 18-fold to another record high from a year earlier in the second quarter, as AI growth continues to strain memory supply and push chip prices higher. On Tuesday, the world's largest memory chipmaker by sales is likely to flag an operating profit of 86 trillion won ($56.35 billion) for the April to June quarter, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate based on forecasts from 30 analysts, weighted toward those with the best track records. Up from 4.7 trillion won a year earlier, this would mark a third consecutive quarter of record operating profit for Samsung, reflecting a prolonged memory shortage, as booming demand for AI inference infrastructure continues to outpace supply growth from global memory manufacturers.
South Korea's SK Hynix to launch $28 billion US listing to ride global AI wave
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix will on Monday launch its about $28 billion U.S. listing, according to its regulatory filings, in one of the world's largest new share sales as it capitalizes on the global AI boom. The company will sell 17.79 million new shares in the depository receipt listing on the Nasdaq, making it one of the world's most valuable tech firms. Ten ADRs will represent one common share and the stock will be sold in a price range due to be revealed on Monday, based on SK Hynix's Seoul trading price. SK Hynix's share price was trading 1% higher and the stock is up about 273% this year, as it rides surging global investor demand for AI stocks. Korea's KOSPI was up 0.2% early Monday. SK Hynix has been among the world's largest beneficiaries of the AI boom as it outperformed its major rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron.
Uber pauses Europe food delivery expansion as it pursues Delivery Hero deal
Uber has paused the majority of its planned food delivery expansion in Europe just months after announcing the plans as the ride-sharing company continues to pursue a takeover of Delivery Hero, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Uber no longer plans to launch food delivery in five of the seven countries it had targeted for expansion this year, including Austria, Norway and Greece, the report said. It did not identify the other two countries. Earlier in the year, Uber said it planned to expand its food delivery business into seven new European markets — Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania. The company expected the move to generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years. The San Francisco-based company, however, is still seeking to acquire Delivery Hero, according to the FT report.
