OPENING CALL
Stock futures were bouncing back Thursday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and the U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace deal.
Oil prices were dropping following the agreement as the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz raised hopes for a gradual normalization of flows and return of Iranian barrels to the market.
At Kevin Warsh's first Fed meeting as chairman, nine out of 19 officials projected that at least one rate hike would be necessary by year end, a shift from March, when none expected that outcome.
Warsh's comments "led investors to fully price in a Fed hike by October, with the repricing weighing on risk assets," said Deutsche Bank. "However, futures are erasing most of this decline overnight following news yesterday evening that U.S. and Iranian leaders signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war."
Laffer Tengler Investments said change is coming and the new chairman of the Fed should be seen as thoughtful and flexible. "Markets and consumers should be happy that more of the same will not be the default."
Investors now see a much greater chance that the Fed could lift rates this year, with CME Group data showing a 64% chance of a hike by September, versus roughly 29% before yesterday's meeting.
Meanwhile, Intel stock jumped premarket after Trump said that Apple agreed to work with the tech giant to design and build chips in the U.S.
Stocks to watch
Apple plans to raise prices on its products to offset surging memory and storage-chip costs, CEO Tim Cook told the Journal. Apple's stock inched higher premarket, while shares in memory makers including Western Digital, Marvell Technology and Micron Technology climbed.
Intel surged premarket after President Trump said Apple agreed to work with it to design and build chips in the U.S.
Smith & Wesson posted a 27% jump in revenue in its latest quarter, as new products, especially handguns, helped the company gain market share. Shares leaped 14% in thin premarket trading.
SpaceX ticked higher premarket. The stock fell 5% yesterday, its first loss since its public debut last week.
Watch For:
U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims; Canada Industrial Product and Raw Materials Price Indexes for May
Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:
- Inside Trump and Netanyahu's Complicated Relationship
- How Hackers Found a Back Door Into the American Living Room
- Inside the Race to Save One of Ukraine's Holiest Sites From a Russian Strike
MARKET WRAPS
Forex:
The dollar stayed higher after reaching an 11-week high against a basket of currencies on Wednesday when the Fed signalled a possible interest-rate rise before year-end.
Sterling shows little reaction to the latest U.K. jobs data as investors await the Bank of England's policy decision later in the day.
Bonds:
Treasury yields were stable to lower
in early trade after the Fed left interest rates on hold, as expected, but turned more hawkish at the first meeting under the new Chairman Warsh. The meeting "raises the risk of interest rate hikes later this year, but our base case is still that the FOMC will leave the policy rate unchanged this year," said Goldman Sachs.
Energy:
In early European trading, Brent crude slid
2.3%, while WTI was down 2.5%. Both benchmarks have fallen roughly 15% so far this week.
Metals:
Gold prices fell after the Fed officials signaled their next move might be to raise interest rates, offsetting support from a drop in oil prices that eased concerns over inflation.
"The contrasting reactions highlight the market's current struggle to balance
short-term macro headwinds against longer-term structural support for gold," Saxo Bank said.
Base metals
Base metals fell in early trading after Trump signed the Iran deal, easing fears over prolonged supply disruptions and their impact on the global economy.
"Aluminium fundamentals are mixed, with strong Chinese supply and rising stocks offsetting Middle East supply risks," ANZ said. "Copper remains relatively supported by tight mine and concentrate supply alongside solid Chinese restocking demand."
Iron
Iron ore was lower in early Asian trade amid strong supply. Exports from Guinea's Simandou iron ore project surged in May, six months after its first shipment to China, ANZ Research said.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Volkswagen Says Next Few Years Will Be Critical
Volkswagen is pushing ahead with plans to restructure the business as rising geopolitical tensions, intense competitive pressure and growing trade barriers should lead to flatlining auto markets.
"The next few years are critical," Chief Executive Oliver Blume said at the German automaker's annual shareholder meeting Thursday. "The situation remains challenging. Nevertheless, it is up to us."
EQT Agrees to Buy Intertek Group for $12.36 Billion
Swedish private-equity group EQT agreed to buy Intertek Group for 9.3 billion pounds ($12.36 billion) in cash after months of talks.
EQT said Thursday that accepting shareholders of the U.K. testing specialist will get 60 pounds in cash a share and keep the final dividend of 107.70 pence a share.
Intel Shares Bounce Premarket After Trump Announces Apple Partnership
Intel stock jumped premarket after President Trump said that Apple agreed to work with the tech giant to design and build chips in the U.S.
Shares rose over 7% to $129.84 in premarket trade Thursday. It would be an all-time high at this price if held all day for the Santa Clara-based company.
Apple to Raise Prices Due to Memory Chip Crunch, Tim Cook Says
Apple plans to raise prices on its products to offset the surging costs of memory and storage chips, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal.
"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," he said. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."
Taiwan Central Bank Leaves Key Interest Rates Unchanged
Taiwan's central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a ninth consecutive quarter, citing expectations that inflation pressures will remain moderate following the interim U.S.-Iran peace deal.
Despite holding rates steady, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) maintained a slightly hawkish stance, saying Thursday that it will continue to monitor developments in the Middle East and monetary-policy trends in major economies.
Turbocharged Earnings Are Pushing Stocks Higher. There's a Catch.
The stock market is salivating over big increases in corporate earnings, but there's a catch. Much of the growth is due to a lag in when the costs of huge AI investments hit the books.
Analysts expect S&P 500 companies' earnings growth to top 20% for a second consecutive quarter in the current period, in part because of soaring profits by semiconductor makers and other AI-infrastructure companies. This has lent crucial support to the booming stock market, helping keep valuation ratios in check.
U.K. Unemployment Falls Below 5%
The U.K.'s unemployment rate inched down in the three months through April while wage growth remained flat, with continued weakness in the labor market reinforcing expectations that the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold.
The unemployment rate was 4.9%, down from 5% in the three months through March, the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said Thursday. This was lower than a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, which forecast the rate to remain unchanged at 5%.
Trump Signs Iran Deal, Says He Wants to Avoid 'Economic Catastrophe'
ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS, France-President Trump on Wednesday defended his agreement to end the Iran war, saying he wanted to avoid an "economic catastrophe" that could have resulted if the conflict the U.S. launched had continued.
Trump-who in an unexpected move signed the deal Wednesday in Versailles-said he was influenced by the stock market's rise as he worked toward a resolution of the conflict. He said he didn't want to be compared with former President Herbert Hoover, who was president during the 1929 market crash that led to the Great Depression.
Deal Gives Iran Chance to Turbocharge Its Oil Revenue
The U.S.-Iran peace agreement includes a huge boost to Tehran's oil industry, potentially restoring the regime's economic lifeblood while generating more than $60 billion a year of revenue.
The memorandum of understanding allows Iran to sell oil and fuel. Already this week, several oil-laden Iranian tankers have steamed out of port and across the U.S. naval blockade line, an early indication of the rush of anticipated exports.
DOJ Defends Musk's xAI in Data-Center Pollution Lawsuit
The Justice Department moved to block an NAACP lawsuit challenging xAI over allegations that gas turbines powering its Mississippi data center risk polluting nearby communities.
The lawsuit filed by the civil-rights group said xAI, Elon Musk's artificial-intelligence company, and its subsidiary MZX Tech are violating the Clean Air Act by operating gas turbines without an air permit at the data center in Southaven, Miss.
Billionaire John Paulson Scores Victory in Puerto Rico Legal Fight
Billionaire John Paulson's long Puerto Rican nightmare just took a $48 million turn in his favor.
For the past three years, the hedge-fund titan-famed for his bet against the U.S. housing market-has been embroiled in a drawn-out legal fight with his longtime business partner on the island. Over that time, Paulson and Pakistan-born Fahad Ghaffar have traded lawsuits-and cutting barbs-detailing how their once-promising partnership imploded so spectacularly.
Write to priscila.barrera@wsj.com
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June 18, 2026 06:02 ET (10:02 GMT)
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