- Rupee set to rally at open as oil slides below pre-Iran war levels, bucking Asia weakness
- Australia jobs bounce masks part-time tilt and April revision as RBA August hold holds
- Bessent Greenspan “tap the brakes” remark read as green light for Warsh hike in September
- Australian May unemployment rate 4.4% (expected 4.4%, prior 4.5%)
- Iran’s IRGC warns ships face action for using Hormuz routes not cleared with Tehran
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.8209 (vs. estimate at 6.8048)
- BoJ Tamura says neutral rate around 2% and its important to get closer sooner
- JPMorgan says non-US stocks at 25% discount but cheap alone won’t shift flows
- South Korea equities surging at the open, Kospi up more than 5%
- Magnitude 7.1 quake topples Caracas buildings as USGS warns of high Venezuela casualties
- UK car output snaps four-month slide in May but US surge masks deeper industry stress
- NY Fed’s Marchioni calls new FOMC reserves language cleanup, not a Warsh policy shift
- MUFG says intervention threat slowing yen slide as BOJ hike fails to shift USD/JPY trend
- JP Morgan lifts S&P 500 target to 7,800 but warns of flash crash risk in crowded AI trades
- JP Morgan cuts Brent forecast to $78 year-end as demand miss and inventory lag bite
- investingLive Americas FX news wrap 24 Jun: Dollar rally extends as risk-off mood deepens
- Micron smashes estimates with $41.5B quarter, guides to $50B on AI memory surge
- Micron stock rips higher after reporting earnings
Summary:
- IRGC Navy rejected the Omani-IMO Hormuz transit framework, calling the proposed route unacceptable and a serious safety risk, giving oil a brief pop though rising traffic through the strait remains the dominant price weight
- BOJ board member Tamura called for rate hikes every few months toward a 2% neutral rate, said underlying inflation has already reached 2%, and warned the BOJ should not hesitate to accelerate if upside price risks heighten
- Australia added 40,300 jobs in May and unemployment fell to 4.4%, but the April revision to minus 40,700, a part-time-heavy composition and a 1.1% fall in hours worked tempered the headline; household spending beat strongly at 1.3% against a 0.5% forecast with annual growth at 5.5%
- Japanese and South Korean equities climbed, led by tech after Micron’s blowout earnings and guidance reignited AI trade confidence
- Successive earthquakes, a 7.1 followed by a 7.5 sixty seconds later, struck north-central Venezuela, causing severe damage across Caracas; a state of emergency has been declared and the main airport closed
- US Speaker Johnson meets President Trump at the White House at 2pm Eastern Thursday
Iran’s IRGC Navy injected fresh uncertainty into the Hormuz picture in the session, rejecting the transit framework proposed under Omani and International Maritime Organization auspices and declaring the route unacceptable and a serious safety risk. The language carries an implicit threat to resume pressure on commercial shipping or impede mine clearance, though the dominant oil market dynamic remains the steady increase in vessel traffic successfully transiting the strait, which kept the crude price reaction to a modest pop.
BOJ board member Naoki Tamura delivered the session’s most hawkish central bank signal, saying underlying inflation has already reached 2%, calling for rate hikes at intervals of a few months toward a neutral rate of around 2%, and warning the board should not hesitate to accelerate or move in larger increments if upside price risks intensify. The remarks reinforce the hawkish read from the June Summary of Opinions released Wednesday.
Australia’s May labour force data came in above the headline consensus at 40,300 jobs added and unemployment back at 4.4%, but the quality of the print was mixed: April was revised sharply to minus 40,700, most of May’s gain was part-time, and hours worked fell 1.1%. Household spending provided the hawkish offset, beating expectations with a 1.3% monthly gain and 5.5% annual growth across all nine spending categories. AUD barely moved, and major FX was broadly subdued with the dollar edging only marginally lower.
Japanese and South Korean equities climbed, led by technology names after Micron’s record earnings and guidance reignited conviction in the AI trade and provided relief to a sector that had been watching for confirmation the demand cycle remains intact.
Our thoughts are with everyone in Venezuela tonight. Successive earthquakes, a 7.1 followed by a 7.5 sixty seconds later, struck north-central Venezuela, causing devastating damage across Caracas. A state of emergency is in effect, the main airport has been closed after suffering severe damage, and metro and rail services have been suspended. The full, tragic, human toll is still emerging.
Looking ahead, Speaker Johnson meets President Trump at the White House at 2pm Eastern Thursday.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
