Overview
- Global indexes closed Q2 higher on strong AI-driven earnings expectations that concentrated gains in technology and semiconductor names.
- Profit-taking in early July triggered sharp semiconductor sell-offs that hit South Korea hardest, with the Kospi tumbling as SK Hynix and Samsung shares slid into double digits from recent highs.
- Brent crude dropped to roughly $71 a barrel after Doha-mediated U.S.–Iran indirect talks were reported to have made "positive progress" and more tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz.
- Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh said inflation pressures have eased but reaffirmed the Fed’s 2% price-stability goal, leaving markets to pin near-term rate direction on the June nonfarm payrolls report.
- Cross-border flows are driving regional divergence with foreign portfolio investors net-selling in India while domestic institutions buy, and crypto briefly rallied with bitcoin topping $60,000 as traders positioned for the jobs print.