Global Stock Markets
Oil and geopolitical tension spike on U.S.-Iran escalation, while semiconductor stocks crater despite strong earnings as AI expectations run wild.
After months of fragile peace, the U.S. struck Iranian targets in retaliation for attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint where roughly one-third of the world's seaborne oil passes through. Oil futures spiked (West Texas Intermediate to $72.61/barrel, Brent to $76.49/barrel) and the U.S. Treasury revoked a waiver letting Iran sell oil, signaling the conflict could reignite. The timing is brutal: with U.S. midterm elections looming in November, any oil-driven inflation spike becomes a political problem for the Trump administration.
Indonesia's main stock index, the IDX Composite, fell 1.05% at close, likely reflecting contagion from the geopolitical flare-up and broader emerging-market nervousness. When oil and conflict risk spike, investors typically flee developing economies first, treating them like the canary in the coal mine. (Investing.com)
Despite sky-high home prices that seemed to lock younger buyers out permanently, Gen Z is finding ways to buy houses—suggesting either creative solutions (co-buying, family help, alternative lending) or pockets of more affordable markets. This matters because sustained housing demand from the youngest cohort props up construction, mortgage lending, and home-goods spending across the economy. (MarketWatch)