US forces struck Iranian targets for a ninth consecutive day as the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz intensified, pushing maritime traffic to the brink of paralysis and keeping energy and risk markets on edge.
In London, Andy Burnham is poised to become the UK’s new prime minister, signaling the possibility of early tax cuts as he prepares to take office.
Markets reflected mounting geopolitical and macro uncertainty. Last week the S&P 500 fell about 1.6%, led by a 2.9% drop in the Nasdaq.
European inflation showed signs of easing: euro‑area CPI cooled to 2.8% in June from 3.2% in May, with core inflation at 2.1%, providing modest relief to policymakers balancing growth and price pressures.
Tech headlines were dominated by China. Alibaba rallied as much as 5.4% on Monday after previewing its Qwen 3.8 Max model, which the company touted as second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. Moonshot AI — whose last model drew strong benchmark scores — is reportedly planning an IPO in about six months.
In Asia, the Reserve Bank of India intervened to support the rupee as the currency approached record lows, underscoring growing FX market stress across emerging markets.
Market moves in the session were muted: European stocks traded flat. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, while mainland Chinese shares rebounded about 1.5% and Hong Kong gained roughly 2.5%. US futures pointed to a roughly 0.5% firmer open and Brent crude traded near $88 a barrel.
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