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- More on reports Iranian forces strike LNG tanker and commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz
- South Korea’s Kospi slammed 4% lower at open, Samsung slide
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- Reports of a ship attacked, Oman, Strait of Hormuz
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- Fed’s Waller and Warsh diverge over role of forward guidance. Public split at the Fed?
- ECB’s Schnabel warns on inflation: Iran conflict shock still not over despite oil drop
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- ICYMI, MORE OIL SUPPLY! – Canada finds faster way to pump more oil, Alberta drillers pivot
Summary:
- Iran’s military fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, according to U.S. officials, after a one-week de-escalation agreement expired
- A loaded LNG tanker was reported struck and set ablaze east of Musandam, though the identity of the vessel remains unconfirmed
- The attacks put the recent U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding at risk and raise the likelihood of U.S. retaliation against Iranian targets
- Oil prices firmed modestly while gold eased back from a two-week high as investors awaited the Fed’s June minutes
- KOSPI led regional equity losses as Samsung shares slumped despite a strong profit beat, with memory peers Micron and Sandisk also falling after-hours
- USD/JPY slipped back under 162.00 while other major currency pairs stayed rangebound
- President Trump said Walmart had agreed to lower prices on many products, adding to expectations of easing inflation pressure
Renewed violence in the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed the session, after Iran’s military fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels transiting the waterway on Monday night, according to U.S. officials cited by Axios and N12. The reported attack came just after a one-week agreement between Washington and Tehran to halt strikes in the strait had lapsed, raising the risk that the broader memorandum of understanding signed less than three weeks ago could unravel entirely. Britain’s maritime trade operation said it had received a report of a tanker travelling south near the Omani coast being struck by an unknown projectile, sparking a fire, while a separate commercial vessel was also hit by a missile. Both ships suffered significant damage but there were no reported casualties. A loaded LNG tanker was also reported struck and set ablaze east of Musandam, though this detail remains unconfirmed. Talks between the U.S. and Iran in Doha last week had already ended with little progress on the strait issue, and markets are now bracing for a possible U.S. response.
Against that backdrop, oil prices firmed modestly, while gold eased back from a two-week high as investors turned their attention to the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes for clues on new Chair Kevin Warsh’s policy approach.
Equity markets told their own story, with the KOSPI the clear regional underperformer following an 8.2% slide in Samsung shares. The move came despite Samsung’s preliminary second-quarter operating profit beating estimates, even as revenue landed in the middle of the analyst range and the outlook included provisions for employee bonuses equivalent to 10.5% of business performance earnings. Some analysts pointed to increased volatility from leveraged ETFs as a factor behind the scale of the selloff, though that explanation is worth treating with some caution given how quickly narratives around Samsung and the memory cycle have shifted recently. The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng were also softer, though by less than the Nikkei and KOSPI, while US equity futures traded mixed, with the Nasdaq underperforming. Memory names Sandisk and Micron both fell after-hours in the wake of Samsung’s figures.
In currencies, USD/JPY dropped back under 162.00, while other major pairs remained rangebound.
Adding a modestly disinflationary note to the session, President Trump said in a social media post that Walmart had agreed to lower prices on many of its products, a development likely to further temper expectations for near-term Fed rate hikes.
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