Daily News 16th June 26
Daily News
Dow Hits Record High as Trump Announces U.S.-Iran Peace Deal; Oil Tumbles, Gold Tops $4,300
16 June 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Tuesday, with South Korea's Kospi up 0.61% while the Kosdaq fell 1.47% and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded flat, after President Trump announced the U.S. and Iran had reached a deal to end the Middle East war. The Dow climbed 468.77 points to a record close of 51,671.03 on Monday, the S&P 500 rose 1.65% to 7,554.29 and the Nasdaq popped 3.07% to 26,683.94 — its best day since March 31. Oil tumbled nearly 5% to below $81 a barrel on hopes the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, while gold rose above $4,300 an ounce.
The peace memorandum, mediated by Pakistan, is set to be signed Friday in Switzerland. The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 1%, the highest since 1995. China's retail sales fell for the first time in over three years. SpaceX's IPO total reached $85.7 billion after underwriters exercised the greenshoe option, with shares popping nearly 20%. Qualcomm is reportedly in talks to buy Tenstorrent for up to $10 billion, Panasonic announced US data centre battery production plans, and Salesforce agreed to acquire AI agent platform Fin for $3.6 billion.
South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.61% on Tuesday, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 1.47%
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.61% on Tuesday, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 1.47%. Japan's Nikkei 225 traded flat while the Topix slipped 0.38%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were last at 24,799, lower than the index's close of 24,842.67. The moves came after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had reached a deal to end the war in the Middle East. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that both sides have declared the termination of their military operations on all fronts, with an official signing ceremony to take place this Friday in Switzerland.
Dow climbs more than 450 points for record close as oil tumbles on potential Iran deal
Stocks rose on Monday to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week as SpaceX extended its rally and after President Donald Trump announced that an agreement had been reached to end the war between the U.S. and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 468.77 points, or 0.92%, for a record close of 51,671.03. The 30-stock index also hit a new all-time intraday high during the session. The S&P 500 climbed 1.65% to 7,554.29, while the Nasdaq Composite popped 3.07% to end at 26,683.94. The tech-heavy index notched its best day since March 31. SpaceX shares popped nearly 20% after soaring 19% in their public market debut on Friday. Trump said late Sunday on social media that a deal with Iran was "now complete." The memorandum of understanding will be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland, according to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Gold traded above $4,300 an ounce on Tuesday after rising more than 2% in the previous session
Gold traded above $4,300 an ounce on Tuesday after rising more than 2% in the previous session, as expectations that a US-Iran peace agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz eased fears of an energy-driven inflation shock that had fuelled interest rate hike expectations. The interim accord is expected to be signed by both sides in Switzerland on Friday, with President Donald Trump saying the free flow of oil from the Persian Gulf would resume once the deal takes effect. However, neither Washington nor Tehran has released the text of the memorandum of understanding, leaving investors cautious. Markets also looked ahead to a series of central bank policy decisions this week, with the Federal Reserve set to hold its first meeting under new chair Kevin Warsh and widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
Crude oil traded below $81 per barrel on Tuesday after tumbling nearly 5% in the previous session
Crude oil traded below $81 per barrel on Tuesday after tumbling nearly 5% in the previous session, as investors awaited further details of the reported US-Iran peace agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The interim accord is expected to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, with President Donald Trump saying the free flow of oil from the Persian Gulf would resume once the deal takes effect. However, neither Washington nor Tehran has released the text of the memorandum of understanding, leaving markets cautious and prompting shipping companies to delay sending vessels through the route until greater clarity emerges.
Bank of Japan hikes rates to highest since 1995 as yen languishes at historic lows
Japan's central bank on Tuesday raised its policy rate to the highest in over 30 years at 1%, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters, accelerating policy normalization started in 2024. This is the Bank of Japan's first hike since December, when it raised rates to its current level of 0.75%, and the first time since 1995 that rates have been raised to 1%. The BOJ said the decision was split 7-1, with board member Toichiro Asada dissenting and advocating for a hold at 0.75%. The policy tightening comes at a time when Japan has been struggling with a weak yen and inflation that has started to creep up, partly due to the Iran war. The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.9% after the decision, while the yen strengthened marginally to 160.22 against the dollar. Yields on the 10-year Japanese Government Bonds climbed 3 basis points to 2.615%.
Vance says U.S. expects Strait of Hormuz to be open 'toll free' long term
Vice President JD Vance said Monday he expects the U.S.-Iran deal will open the Strait of Hormuz without tolls for the long term, but shippers say the arrangement to cross the sea lane remains unclear. "Our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that's the sort of thing that we're going to figure out in these technical negotiations," Vance told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview. Iranian state media has said Hormuz will open to toll-free transits for a 60-day period. The strait will be managed by Iran and Oman after that period, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. The U.S. and Iran are expected to sign an agreement to end the conflict on Friday in Switzerland.
China economy weakens further in May as retail sales post first drop in over three years
China's retail sales fell for the first time in more than three years in May while urban investment contracted more than expected, heaping pressure on Beijing to roll out meaningful stimulus to spur consumption. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, declined in May for the first time since December 2022, dropping 0.6% from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The Labor Day holiday at the start of May failed to offset sluggish consumer spending with Beijing scaling back trade-in subsidies earlier this year. The sales contraction was a surprise as economists polled by Reuters had estimated flat growth. Fu Linghui, the bureau's spokesperson, highlighted retail sales in goods and services combined eked out a 2.8% jump over the five months.
U.S. and Iran reach deal to end the Mideast war, with agreement set to be signed Friday
The U.S. and Iran have agreed on a deal to bring their nearly four-month war to an end, with both sides declaring the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday. "Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED," Sharif said in a post on X. Pakistan has served as a mediator between the two countries. "The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland," Sharif said. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that a deal had been reached soon after the prime minister's announcement. In a post on Truth Social, the president said, "The deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete."
SpaceX IPO raises total of $85.7 billion as underwriters exercise 'greenshoe' overallotment option
SpaceX underwriters have officially exercised their overallotment of shares in the historic initial public offering, bringing the total raised to $85.7 billion, according to an investor relations update out Monday. Elon Musk's space and artificial intelligence company raised an initial $75 billion on Thursday, making it the biggest IPO ever. SpaceX's brokers, which include Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, had the option to buy an additional 83.3 million shares as part of the overallotment, which is commonly referred to as the "greenshoe." The additional money raised in the SpaceX overallotment is bigger than almost all tech IPOs on record. Underwriters typically exercise the overallotment when the stock rises.
Qualcomm in talks to buy Tenstorrent, The Information reports
Qualcomm is in talks to acquire AI chip startup Tenstorrent for $8 billion to $10 billion, The Information reported on Monday citing a person with knowledge of the deal. Shares of Qualcomm fell about 1% in extended trading. The talks were ongoing and the price could change, or the discussions could fall apart, according to the report. It was not clear if the price will include performance-based milestone payments, a structure used in the past to buy chip startups, the Information added. Qualcomm and Tenstorrent did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the report. One of the world's largest suppliers of smartphone chips, Qualcomm has increasingly sought to reduce its dependence on the cyclical handset market by expanding into high-growth segments such as data center processors and autonomous vehicle chips.
Panasonic to start US data centre battery production by fiscal 2028
Panasonic Holdings said on Monday it plans to start mass production of battery cells for data centre applications at a plant in the U.S. state of Kansas in the financial year 2028, which ends March 2029. The company said it would allocate about 350 billion yen ($2.18 billion) of its previously announced 500-billion-yen investment in AI infrastructure over fiscal 2026-2028 to its Energy unit, which supplies Tesla, and 150 billion yen to its Industry segment. Panasonic Energy also plans to build a third plant in Mexico with mass production scheduled for the fiscal year 2027.
Salesforce deepens AI automation push with $3.6 billion Fin buyout
Salesforce on Monday said it will buy autonomous AI agent platform Fin for about $3.6 billion, bolstering its Agentforce offering as the business software provider deepens its focus on automation. The acquisition marks Salesforce's latest bet to accelerate its AI transition amid a wider industry shift toward autonomous agents. Salesforce has been reinventing itself as an AI-agent company through Agentforce, which more than tripled annual recurring revenue to $1.2 billion in the first quarter. The company's $8 billion acquisition of AI-powered data management platform Informatica in May 2025 marked its return to large deals to strengthen data and automation capabilities. Fin's offering includes an AI agent that handles customer support queries across channels, including live chat, email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone and Slack. It counts firms such as Anthropic, Kalshi and Doordash among its customers.
