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Yesterday, markets closed mixed: S&P 500 +0.21%, Nasdaq 100 ?0.22%, Dow Jones +1.03%. Today, the Asian sell-off intensified: South Korea's KOSPI plunged by 6.5% after an intraday fall of up to 13%; SK Hynix shares collapsed by roughly 10% despite a 557% year-on-year jump in quarterly profit, and Samsung fell by 6.6%. The rout dragged the MSCI Asia Pacific down about 1%, and the US tech sector recorded its fifth straight down session, its longest losing streak this year.
European bourses look set to open modestly lower amid bank earnings, while investors were rattled by a sharp 3.5% rise in Brent to above $87/bbl after a prior three-day pullback. The move followed reports of an intercepted Iranian strike and a US retaliatory attack. The renewed risk around the Strait of Hormuz raises fears of supply disruptions and inflation ahead of the Fed decision, adding another layer of uncertainty and accelerating outflows from tech stocks. Follow the link for more details.
US forces launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to a nocturnal rocket attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a US base and CENTCOM command post in Jordan. Jordanian air defenses shot down five missiles, according to CENTCOM, and the Pentagon deployed an intensive air campaign that The Wall Street Journal reports could run for up to two weeks, with the ultimate scale of escalation a decision for the White House.
US President Donald Trump said Iran had issued formal apologies and asked to avoid escalation, but Washington nevertheless struck back forcefully to punish Tehran while keeping channels for diplomacy open. Separately, the US and Saudi Arabia conducted a joint operation against Iran-backed militias in Iraq — an operation, Trump said, fully coordinated with Baghdad. Follow the link for more details.
US index futures initially bounced after strong quarterly results from Microsoft but quickly gave up ground amid renewed US–Iran tensions and hawkish Fed signals. By morning, the S&P 500 was up roughly 0.1%, the Nasdaq about 0.4%, while the Dow remained almost flat. Additional nervousness came from a sharp sell-off in Meta and weekend volatility in Asia (KOSPI), setting the stage for cautious and mixed trading on Wall Street.
The main driver of the early optimism was Microsoft. The stock jumped by nearly 9% in after-hours trading following a strong quarter driven by Azure growth and demand for AI solutions, and the company raised revenue and cloud-business guidance. Microsoft also trimmed its full-year 2026 capex guidance from $190bn to $175bn, and Q1 capex came in slightly below expectations (~$50bn) — a tone investors viewed positively in light of worries about AI-related spending. Follow the link for more details.
Gold prices retraced after markets digested Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's message: a pause in interest rate moves provided a brief lift to precious metals, but his reaffirmation of commitment to return inflation to 2%, together with a firmer dollar and a rebound in Treasury yields, brought renewed selling pressure. XAU/USD eased by about 0.4% to $4,049.99 from a weekly peak of $4,100.42. Gold futures settled near $4,047.20 (+0.3%) and silver around $57.32 (?0.6%).
At the same time, heightened geopolitical risk — new US strikes on Iran and Washington's threats of further action — added uncertainty ahead of a key US inflation print and decisions from other central banks. These factors, combined with market expectations, are capping precious metal gains and making near-term price action more volatile. Follow the link for more details.
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