MARKET SNAPSHOT
Major U.S. stock indexes closed lower Friday, with the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 declining for a fifth-straight session. Back-and-forth attacks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend added pressure to a preliminary peace deal already under stress. Treasury yields ended the week lower while the U.S. dollar eased on the day but finished the week stronger. Oil futures settled lower but then rose in after-hours trading on escalating Middle East tensions. Gold and silver prices both rose for a second-consecutive session.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
Stocks closed out a turbulent week with a whimper.
U.S. stock indexes finished Friday down slightly, a fifth-straight decline for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite. Tech stocks were under pressure again, with chip makers lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both declined 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%
Investors have tapped the brakes on the tech trade, as doubts creep in over whether the AI boom can keep running this hot. That's raised the stakes for the broader market rally, given how much of this year's gains have been riding on a handful of tech giants.
Markets in Asia fell amid a tech-led selloff on Friday.
South Korea's Kospi ended 5.8% lower after slumping more than 8%, prompting regulators to halt trading for the second time this week.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 4.2%, weighed down by a 13% plunge in Softbank Group's shares, after a media report suggested OpenAI could hold off going public until next year.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.3%, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 3.1%, and the ChiNext Price Index dropped 4.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1.8% lower.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2%
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index ended flat.
COMMODITIES
U.S. oil futures climbed back above $70 a barrel in late trading Friday after the U.S. launched a fresh attack on Iran a day after Tehran struck a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, oil futures had resumed their slide on optimism about flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with key benchmarks settling at or near pre-war levels. Brent had ended down 4.3% at $71.99 a barrel, its lowest since Feb. 26. WTI had fallen 3.7% to settle at $69.23, its lowest close since Feb. 27.
Gold and silver prices both rose for a second-straight session.
Front-month Comex gold for June delivery rose 1.2% to $4078.70 a troy ounce.
Comex silver gained 1.5% to $59.217 a troy ounce.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Iran Asserts Sole Control of Hormuz, Warns Challenges Will Bring More Violence
Iran has the exclusive right to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz under the preliminary peace deal signed with President Trump, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, adding that attempts to circumvent its authority risk triggering more strikes like those seen in recent days.
The comments were among the clearest by a top official that Iran expects sole authority over the strait under the deal aimed at reopening the strategic waterway. They are at odds with American arguments that the deal doesn't give Iran control and that navigation must be unimpeded in the international waterway.
Tehran's assertion of authority followed several days of back-and-forth strikes with the U.S. that began when Iran attacked a ship trying to cross the strait by hugging the coast of Oman. Tehran, which wants ships to follow a separate course along its coastline, had warned ships against using that alternative route.
U.S., Iran Carry Out New Strikes, Testing Fragile Ceasefire
The U.S. and Iran exchanged blows Saturday in the Persian Gulf, extending fighting around the Strait of Hormuz into a third day and testing a fragile ceasefire meant to end months of hostilities.
The U.S. operation targeted Iranian communication and air-defense sites, drone-storage facilities and minelaying capabilities, the U.S. military said, following what it said was an attack on an oil tanker in the strait. It was the second wave of American attacks in as many days as the U.S. seeks to degrade Iran's ability to target commercial shipping.
Iran's state media said projectiles had caused explosions at the Hormuz port cities of Sirik and Bandar Lengeh and on the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm. All three sites are home to military facilities.
Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: U.S. Jobs Data in Focus as Markets Search for Clues on Fed Rate Path
Below are the most important global events likely to affect FX and bond markets in the week starting June 29:
U.S. jobs data will mark the highlight of the week to see whether it confirms recent data suggesting a robust economy as investors gauge whether and when the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates.
In Europe, provisional inflation data for June and the European Central Bank's annual forum on central banking will be closely monitored for clues on monetary policy.
Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on European Countries That Impose Digital Services Tax
President Trump on Friday threatened to greatly increase tariffs on European nations if they follow through on plans to impose new taxes on U.S. tech companies.
"Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America."
European countries for years have considered imposing taxes on large tech firms such as Amazon.com and Meta Platforms. Some nations such as France, Denmark and Portugal already have such levies. The U.S. has pushed back on those proposals in Europe and elsewhere, with Trump previously threatening tariffs on Canada and South Korea over alleged discrimination against American tech firms.
Consumer Sentiment Improves in June as Gasoline Prices Moderate
Consumer sentiment improved from recent record lows in June as gasoline prices moderated, according to the University of Michigan's monthly survey.
The Michigan consumer-sentiment index rose to 49.5, its final reading for June, after May's reading of 44.8. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had been expecting a reading of 49.
Expected business conditions over the next five years surged 16% as consumers' worries over long-term consequences of the Iran conflict appear to be easing, said Joanne Hsu, the survey's director. Still, sentiment remains in unfavorable territory at 13% below the February 2026 reading prior to the start of the Iran conflict, Hsu added.
Fed's Kashkari Says the Fed May Have to Raise Rates This Year
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said inflation risks have led him to pencil in one rate hike by the end of the year.
"In March I had penciled in one rate cut by the end of the year. In June, I've changed that to one rate hike by the end of the year," Kashkari said Friday at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Kashkari is a voter this year on monetary policy in the Federal Open Market Committee. His remarks come one day after the Fed's preferred inflation gauge came in at its highest reading since April 2023 as the conflict in the Middle East elevated energy prices. The core 12-month PCE inflation rate is up 3.4%.
Warsh Taps Two Veteran Fed Economists as Advisers
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has tapped two veteran central-bank economists to serve as advisers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Daniel Covitz, who is one of three deputy directors in the Fed's division of research and statistics, and Eric Engstrom, a senior associate director in the division of monetary affairs, will advise Warsh. Both are longtime staffers steeped in the workings of an institution Warsh has pledged to retool.
The additions are among the first moves Warsh has made since taking over last month. Warsh's recent predecessors also tapped one or two senior advisers from the existing staff shortly after taking office.
China Sharpens Tools for Hitting Back at Foreign Sanctions
China is preparing new legal tools for striking back against economic pressure from abroad, raising risks for foreign businesses operating in the world's second-largest economy.
Senior lawmakers in Beijing reviewed a bill this week that would empower state prosecutors to file civil suits against foreign organizations and individuals who allegedly damage China's interests, state media said.
The proposed law on "procuratorial public-interest litigation" would add to an array of legal mechanisms that China has created in recent years to counter foreign sanctions and other forms of what Beijing considers coercion, particularly from the U.S.
China Has Matched Anthropic in Cybersecurity, Resetting AI Race
Chinese artificial-intelligence systems have matched the performance of Anthropic's powerful model Mythos in some cybersecurity scenarios, a development poised to reset the global tech race and pressure the White House in its overhaul of U.S. AI policy.
Security researchers said that a new AI model, released this month by China's Zhipu AI, also known as Z.ai, can match the latest U.S. models when it comes to finding security bugs, although it still lags behind Anthropic's and OpenAI's products in other tasks.
Overall, the capability gap between top U.S. models and those built by Chinese companies has narrowed significantly, and use of Chinese AI systems has surged as businesses seek to rein in runaway costs. A host of companies, including Microsoft, are weighing how they can offer Chinese models on their platforms, a development that is set to alter the balance of power among tech companies.
Saks Global Emerges From Bankruptcy as Exemplar Luxury Group
Saks Global is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and rebranding itself as Exemplar Luxury Group.
The company said it is coming out of the process with a 75% debt reduction and sufficient liquidity. It has been partnering with Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital throughout its restructuring process.
Both firms will have two representatives on a newly reconstituted seven-person board, the company said. They will be joined by Chief Executive Geoffroy van Raemdonck, as well as former Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell and former Moët Hennessy and DFS Group CEO Philippe Schaus.
Volkswagen Deepens Cost-Cutting Overhaul
Volkswagen is working on a radical overhaul that will likely result in thousands of additional job losses beyond the 50,000 already agreed with unions, in the automotive giant's latest move to bolster its finances amid growing competition from China.
The project is aimed at making "the entire company more efficient and leaner," the German carmaker said Friday. The company's management team is expected to present details of the plan to its supervisory board early next month.
Volkswagen's statement followed a report by local business monthly Manager Magazin that the company wanted to double its job-cut target to 100,000 positions. Roles in North America and China would be trimmed as well as four factories in Germany, the report said.
Expected Major Events for Monday
01:00/JPN: May Steel Imports & Exports Statistics
04:01/MAL: May PPI
08:59/JPN: Jun Monthly Economic Report
23:00/SKA: May Service Industry Activity Index
23:00/SKA: May Industrial Production Index
23:30/JPN: May Labour Force Survey
23:50/JPN: May Preliminary Industrial Production
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 28, 2026 16:59 ET (20:59 GMT)
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