- Oil, Dollar Trim Gains After US Attacks on Iran: Markets Wrap
European stock futures declined while oil advanced, as traders awaited Tehran’s response after
Washington struck Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend. A Bloomberg gauge of the greenback climbed 0.3%,
while global crude benchmark Brent rose almost 2% after surging as much as 5.7%. Contracts for the S&P
500 declined 0.3% and a gauge of Asian equities fell to the lowest since early June. Treasury yields ticked higher. - S&P 500 posts third straight losing day as traders eye Middle East tensions, Trump’s next steps
The S&P 500 fell on Friday as investors monitored the latest developments out of the Middle East. Traders also
contemplated the path of future interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve. The broad market index declined 0.22%
to end at 5,967.84. Friday marked the third consecutive losing session for the S&P 500. The Nasdaq
Composite dropped 0.51% and settled at 19,447.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 35.16 points,
or 0.08%, closing at 42,206.82. Chip stocks came under pressure following a report by The Wall Street Journal
that the U.S. may revoke waivers for some semiconductor manufacturers. Nvidia was down more than 1%,
while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slid nearly 2%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was lower
by nearly 1%. The S&P 500 started off the trading session higher after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher
Waller said that the central bank could cut rates as early as July. “I think we’re in the position that we could do
this and as early as July,” Waller said during a “Squawk Box” interview. - Oil prices jump more than 2% after U.S. strikes on Iran raise fears of supply disruption
Oil futures jumped more than 2% at the start of the first trading session since the U.S. launched direct attacks
against Iran, casting a shadow over the supply outlook in the embattled oil-rich Middle Eastern region. U.S.
crude oil on Sunday evening rose $1.76, or 2.38%, to $75.60 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up
$1.80, or 2.34%, to $78.81 per barrel. Brent had jumped 5.7% to crack $81 before easing. President Donald
Trump on Saturday surprised markets with the announcement that Washington had directly entered the Iran
Israel conflict, launching attacks against three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Investors are
now looking to see how Iran will respond to the unprecedented U.S. strikes. Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday
the Islamic Republic reserves “all options” to defend its sovereignty. The initial rise in oil prices could ease if
Iran does not respond, according to S&P Global Platts. - Gold subdued as dollar gains, markets await Iran response
Gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors favored the dollar following the U.S. attack on key Iranian
nuclear sites over the weekend, with markets closely watching for Iran’s response. Spot gold was down 0.2%
at $3,362.29 an ounce, as of 0341 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,378. “The US strikes on Iranian nuclear
facilities resulted in the dollar receiving safe haven buying flows in the currency market,” KCM Trade Chief
Market Analyst Tim Waterer said. “This USD uptick had pegged gold back and caused an uncharacteristically
subdued performance from the precious metal despite risks stemming from the conflict.” The dollar rose 0.2%
against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. USD/ U.S. President Donald Trump
on Sunday raised the question of a regime change in Iran following U.S. strikes against key military sites over
the weekend, as senior officials in his administration warned Tehran against retaliation. Iran vowed to defend
itself a day after the U.S. dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs onto the mountain above Iran’s Fordow
nuclear site. Meanwhile, Iran and Israel continued to trade volleys of missile attacks. An Israeli military
spokesperson said Israeli fighter jets had struck military targets in western Iran. Shares slipped in Asia on
Monday and oil prices briefly hit five-month highs, but there were no signs of panic selling across markets. The
Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy report to Congress, released on Friday, said U.S. inflation remained
somewhat elevated and the labor market was solid. - Trump calls ‘obliteration’ an accurate description of damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed Iranian attempts to downplay the strikes on its nuclear
facilities, stressing that “obliteration” was an accurate description, even though the full extent of the damage
to Iran’s nuclear capabilities was not immediately clear. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in
Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply
imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The
biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The U.S. Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday that there was “severe damage and destruction” to the
facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, but did not go so far as to say that Iran’s nuclear capacities had been
“obliterated.” “Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all
three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said. - U.S. calls on China to prevent Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz and disrupting global oil flows
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called for China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of
Hormuz, one of the most important trade routes for crude oil in the world. “I encourage the Chinese
government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their
oil,” Rubio said in an interview on Fox News. China is Iran’s most important oil customer and maintains friendly
relations with the Islamic Republic. Iran’s foreign minister warned earlier Sunday that the Islamic Republic
“reserves all options to defend its sovereignty,” after the U.S. bombed three key nuclear sites over the
weekend. Iranian state-owned media, meanwhile, reported that Iran’s parliament backed closing the Strait of
Hormuz, citing a senior lawmaker. However, the final decision to close the strait lies with Iran’s national security
council, according to the report. An attempt to block the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman could have
profound consequences for the global economy. Some 20 million barrels per day of crude oil, or 20% of global
consumption, flowed through the strait in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. - Bitcoin briefly sinks below $99,000 as U.S. strikes on Iran trigger crypto market sell-off
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since May over the weekend, as rising tensions in the Middle East and renewed
inflation fears triggered a sharp selloff across digital assets. Bitcoin dropped below the $99,000 mark on Sunday
— its lowest level in more than a month — while ether plunged over 10% at one point, as the digital asset
market became the first to price in rising geopolitical risk. Solana, XRP, and dogecoin also posted steep losses,
dragging the entire crypto complex sharply lower. By late Sunday, digital assets had started to recover. Bitcoin
was trading just under $101,000, down just 1% over the past 24 hours, while ether has pared some losses, off
2.5% to around $2,200. The sell-off appears to be a combination of geopolitical shock and macroeconomic
concern. Iran has reportedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping lane that handles
about 20% of global oil supply. JPMorgan warns that a full closure could drive oil prices as high as $130 per
barrel. One prominent macro research firm notes that such a spike could send U.S. inflation back toward 5%
— a level not seen since March 2023, when the Fed was still actively raising rates. - Samsung aims to catch up to Chinese rivals for thin foldable phones as Apple said to enter the fray
Samsung will unveil a thinner version of its flagship foldable smartphone at a launch likely set to take place
next month, as it battles Chinese rivals to deliver the slimmest devices to the market. Folding phones, which
have a single screen that can fold in half, came in focus when Samsung first launched such a device in 2019.
But Chinese players, in particular Honor and Oppo, have since aggressively released foldables that are thinner
and lighter than Samsung’s offerings. Why are slim foldables important? “With foldables, thinness has become
more critical than ever because people aren’t prepared to accept the compromise for a thicker and heavier
phone to get the real estate that a folding phone can deliver,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told
CNBC on Thursday. Honor, Oppo and other Chinese players have used their slim designs to differentiate
themselves from Samsung. Let’s look at a comparison: Samsung’s last foldable from 2024, the Galaxy Z Fold6,
is 12.1 millimeter ~(0.48 inches) thick when folded and weighs 239 grams (8.43 oz). Oppo’s Find N5, which was
released earlier this year, is 8.93 millimeters thick when closed and weighs 229 grams. The Honor Magic V3,
which was launched last year, is 9.2 millimeters when folded and weighs 226 grams. - Shares of chipmakers sank on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported a US Commerce Department
official has told top semiconductor companies he wants to revoke waivers they have used to access American
technology in China
Currently, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as well as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
enjoy blanket waivers that allow them to ship American chip-making equipment to their factories in China
without applying for a separate license each time. Jeffrey Kessler, head of the unit in charge of export controls
at the Commerce Department, told the three companies this week he wanted to cancel those waivers. They
said Kessler described the action as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on critical U.S. technology
going to China. If carried out, the move could be disruptive both diplomatically and economically. Earlier this
month, the U.S. and China agreed to a fragile trade truce in London. Part of the deal involved each country
agreeing to hold off from introducing new export controls and other measures designed to hurt the other. - Tesla rolls out robotaxis in Texas test
Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with
CEO Elon Musk announcing the “robotaxi launch” and social-media influencers posting videos of their first
rides. The event marked the first time Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) cars without human drivers have carried paying
riders, a business that Musk sees as crucial to the electric car maker’s financial future. He called the moment
the “culmination of a decade of hard work” in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that “the AI chip
and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.” Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighborhood
called South Congress with no one in the driver’s seat but one person in the passenger seat. The automaker
planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as “safety monitors,” though it
remained unclear how much control they had over the vehicles. In recent days, the automaker sent invites to
a select group of influencers for a carefully monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being
offered for a flat fee of $4.20, Musk said on X. - Alibaba merges food delivery platform, travel unit into e-commerce business
Alibaba will merge its food delivery platform Ele.me and its online travel agency Fliggy into its core e-commerce
business, local media reports said on Monday. Alibaba (HK:9988) NYSE:BABA) CEO Eddie Wu reportedly
announced the move in an internal email to employees, with Wu describing the move as part of Alibaba’s
strategic move from an e-commerce company to a big consumer platform. Both Ele.me and Fliggy will maintain
their current leadership. The move comes just days after Ele.me logistics head and former CEO Han Liu was hit
with a police probe over alleged corruption tied to the company’s supply chain operations. The allegations
stemmed from an internal review by Ele.me, which had voluntarily reported instances of misconduct to the
Shanghai police. Alibaba’s restructuring comes as the e-commerce giant looks to further secure its market
share in China, amid soft consumer spending trends and growing headwinds from U.S. trade tariffs.
The company is also seeking to further its artificial intelligence prospects. - Xiaomi to unveil prices for new YU7 SUV at June 26 launch
Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun said on Monday that the firm plans to hold an official launch event for its new YU7 electric
sports utility vehicle on Thursday, where it is expected to announce pricing and start taking orders. Lei made
the announcement on his Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) account. Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) earlier announced specifications
for its second EV model in May. - Coinbase Global Inc (COIN US)
Coinbase secured its Markets in Crypto Assets license (MiCA) from Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance
du Secteur Financier (CSSF), enabling the company to offer a full suite of crypto products to all 27 EU member
states. Company says milestone enables it to offer a full suite of crypto products and services to 450 million
people across all 27 European Union member states. - Kroger Co.’s sales surpassed expectations during the latest quarter, a sign that consumers are still
spending on groceries and other essentials despite economic turbulence
The nation’s largest supermarket operator said its comparable sales, excluding fuel, rose 3.2% — better than
what Wall Street analysts were expecting. The company also raised its full-year sales guidance to a range of
2.25% to 3.25%. It reaffirmed the rest of its outlook. Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley told analysts on
the company’s conference call that Kroger has seen an improvement in grocery volumes in recent quarters,
which contributed to growth in the latest quarter. Kroger expects further volume expansion over the rest of 2025.
Shares rose 9.8%. Customers are spending cautiously, interim CEO Sargent said, but they’re also eating
more meals at home. Shoppers are purchasing larger-sized packages, using more coupons and spending less
on adult beverages and snacks, executives added, while also highlighting strength in fresh food, pharmacy,
private label and online sales. The company expects a “smaller business impact than some of our competitors”
from tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump, Sargent said. The company is looking for ways to avoid raising
prices, and hikes would be “a last resort,” he added.
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