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July 6, 2026 - 01:23
3 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Oil edged lower as energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz persisted and OPEC+ signaled higher supplies. Traders were also focused on the Korean won’s first day of 24-hour trading.Brent slipped 0.6% to $71.71 a barrel as shipping through the US-protected corridor in the waterway showed signs of recovering. OPEC+ members also backed another modest rise in collective quotas for next month.Elsewhere, equity-index futures for Wall Street gauges held their gains from Friday, when the US markets were shut for a holiday. Futures for the S&P 500 Index rose 0.5%, while those for the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.5%. Contracts for Asian benchmarks were mixed, with focus on the Kospi Index ahead of this week’s $29 billion US listing for SK Hynix Inc.Markets entered the second half of the year on a cautious footing as investors weigh the fallout from the Iran war’s energy shock and whether the AI-driven rally can be sustained. Following last week’s recovery from a two-day rout in chipmakers, attention has shifted to earnings season for signs that massive spending on AI infrastructure is translating into profits.“Tech stocks and tech-heavy indices in the US and Asia have entered a period of consolidation ahead of the Q2 earnings season,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG Markets in Sydney.In other corners of the market, gold climbed for a fourth consecutive day. The yellow metal traded around $4,190 an ounce, building on its first weekly gain since May as traders dialed down their expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike.Silver rose 1.1% to about $63.10 an ounce. The dollar was steady against major peers in early Asian trading.One key area of focus in Asia is on the won. The Korean currency was steady after rebounding late Friday from its weakest level against the dollar since 2009 after a person familiar with the matter said the nation’s officials were preparing for currency flows related to SK Hynix’s offering of American depositary receipts.The move to 24-hour trading for the currency is the centerpiece of Seoul’s years-long push to improve foreign investors’ access to local markets and bolster the case for an upgrade to MSCI Inc.’s developed-market index.Attention will also be on US Treasuries when cash trading reopens in Asia following Friday’s holiday. The US bond market faces a test of investor demand for longer-dated maturities this week, with auctions of 10- and 30-year Treasuries highlighting an otherwise light week for economic events.The auctions come as minutes from the Fed’s June meeting will be closely parsed after Chair Kevin Warsh tempered his hawkish inflation stance last week. Traders trimmed expectations that a hike was imminent following softer-than-expected jobs data and Warsh’s comment that inflation pressures had eased.Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.5% as of 8:13 a.m. Tokyo time. NOTE: There was no futures settlement Friday due to US holiday CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1435 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.46 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7850 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 1.9% to $63,853.96 Ether rose 1.2% to $1,797.89 CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $68.35 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,190.01 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
