Global markets rallied Monday after the U.S. and Iran reached a peace deal, ending the Middle East conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged to a record intraday high, closing 5% higher at 69,317.50. South Korea's Kospi jumped 5.2% to 8,545.98, leading Asia-Pacific gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.56%, while China's CSI 300 gained 2.39%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.25%, and India's Nifty 50 was up 1.25%. Asian tech stocks soared, with SoftBank rising over 12%, Tokyo Electron up 9.19%, and Advantest gaining 7.69%. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 4.65% and 6.42% respectively. TSMC added 2.16%, and Foxconn gained 2.5%. European markets also surged, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 up 1.2% at open. France's CAC 40 led with a 1.9% gain, followed by Germany's DAX up 1.8%. Carmakers soared 3.7%, travel and leisure stocks advanced 2.8%, and defense companies rose. Renault climbed 5.6%, Stellantis added 5.6%, and Ferrari gained 4.5%. TUI rose 7.1%, Lufthansa added 5.7%, and Ryanair gained 5.5%. However, energy stocks plummeted as oil prices dropped below $80 a barrel for the first time since the conflict began. Var Energi plunged 7.3%, TotalEnergies tumbled nearly 5.8%, BP fell 4.4%, and Shell slipped 4.3%. U.S. crude futures were down 4.8% to $80.80, and Brent fell 3.9% to $83.89. U.S. stock futures rose Sunday night, with Dow futures up 0.6%, and S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. The peace deal, mediated by Pakistan, includes a toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the U.S. naval blockade. President Donald Trump announced the deal, saying, "Ships of the World, start your engines! Let the oil flow!" The official signing ceremony is set for June 19 in Switzerland.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, will be the first in North America in over three decades. Featuring 48 nations across 16 cities, JPMorgan strategists call it "the largest single-sport event in history." According to FIFA, the tournament is expected to generate approximately $14 billion in event-related spending and contribute $17.2 billion to U.S. GDP, with over 6.5 million fans attending matches. Goldman Sachs' simulations rank Spain as the most likely champion, followed by France and Argentina. Historically, host-country equities have delivered median returns of roughly 10% in World Cup years, driven by tourism, consumer sentiment, and event-related investment. JPMorgan sees upside across secondary ticketing, online travel, lodging, ride-share, food delivery, advertising, airports, and car rentals. Accommodation and food are estimated to bring in $2.4 billion, real estate $2 billion, and U.S. hotel room revenue an additional $910 million. Digital advertising may be a key winner, generating about $5 billion in incremental global ad spending, with 73% flowing through digital channels. JPMorgan recommends a basket of 2026 World Cup beneficiaries, including overweight-rated names Alphabet, TKO Group, Booking Holdings, Coca-Cola, and DraftKings. For medium-term exposure, it suggests a basket of sponsors such as McDonald's, DoorDash, and American Airlines, which performed strongly in past tournaments. Despite the scale, investor expectations remain subdued due to macro uncertainty and consumer demand concerns. However, JPMorgan expects market sentiment to improve as the event approaches.
JetBlue Airways is expanding its presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where it is already the largest carrier, following the collapse of Spirit Airlines on May 2, 2025. Spirit, previously the top airline at the airport, filed for bankruptcy due to debt and operational issues. JetBlue now holds 36% of the market share by capacity, up from 24% a year earlier, and has increased its daily flights from about 68 to 106. Hours after Spirit’s collapse, JetBlue added flights to fill the void, and on June 1, it raised its revenue forecast for the year due to strong demand. JetBlue President Marty St. George expressed confidence in the growth, noting that additional gates are becoming available, though some are still tied up in bankruptcy court. The airline plans to operate around 150 daily flights during peak winter months, matching its largest hub at Boston Logan International Airport. Expansion includes more international destinations from Fort Lauderdale, with a focus on premium travel. JetBlue is reviewing sites for a lounge at the airport, which would be its third after New York’s JFK and Boston. The main competitive threat is Miami International Airport, about 26 miles south, an American Airlines hub that is much larger. American plans a record 100 destinations to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin America, with 77 from Miami, including new flights to Maracaibo, Venezuela, and Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. JetBlue recently announced service from Fort Lauderdale to Caracas, Venezuela. St. George noted that some customers will always prefer Miami, but JetBlue aims to increase utility at Fort Lauderdale with more destinations.
The U.S. and Iran have reached a peace deal to end their nearly four-month war, with both sides declaring an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the agreement on Sunday, having served as mediator. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the deal on Truth Social, authorizing the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of the U.S. naval blockade. The official signing ceremony is set for Friday, June 19, in Switzerland. Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed a finalized memorandum of understanding, stating all military operations would cease "immediately and permanently" and the naval blockade would be lifted. However, negotiations toward a final agreement will be deferred until Washington fulfills its commitments. Iranian state media reported that the U.S. was "forced to sign an agreement to end the war." Qatar welcomed the agreement, highlighting measures to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. European nations, including the UK, Germany, France, and Italy, expressed willingness to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for steps on its nuclear program, stressing that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. The deal follows weeks of mixed messaging and a fragile ceasefire. Earlier Sunday, the deal was put at risk when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched projectiles into Israel, prompting Israeli strikes and Trump warning both sides not to "blow it." The Strait of Hormuz, closed since late February, had caused severe supply constraints, rising prices, and inflation—US inflation hit 4.2% in May. Vice President JD Vance called the deal "a great thing" for lowering energy costs. The war had also driven the ECB to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023, and the Fed is now expected to raise rates later this year.
SpaceX shares jumped in premarket trading on Monday following its record-breaking debut last week on the Nasdaq, which marked the biggest initial public offering in history.Shares of SpaceX were around 6% higher at the start of premarket trading.SpaceX jumped 19% on Friday with the stock closing at $161 after being priced at $135 per share. That put the company's market capitalization above $2 trillion. Elon Musk's space company operates the Starlink satellite internet service and a fleet of reusable rockets. In February, Musk merged the company with his artificial intelligence startup xAI. SpaceX lost nearly $5 billion in 2025 and the blockbuster IPO has sparked debate over whether the company's huge valuation if justified.CFRA on Friday initiated coverage of the stock with a "sell" rating and a 12-month price target of $115, which is a nearly 29% drop from Friday's closing price. CFRA said its view was "due to the company's extremely ambitious growth strategy, elevated valuation expectations, and significant capital intensity." SpaceX's capital expenditures in the three months ended March totaled $10.1 billion versus $4.1 billion in the same period last year. The majority of that went toward artificial intelligence. Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens released a note on June 8, in which he said the firm values SpaceX at $63 per share, and described the stock as "overvalued."However, other analysts are more bullish. New Street Research initiated coverage of SpaceX with a $165 price target. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
The U.K. will ban social media from offering services to under-16s, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday, as governments around the world face mounting pressure to ensure child safety online. The ban could include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The first set of regulations could take effect as soon as spring 2027. The U.K. plans to model its approach on landmark Australian legislation passed late last year, but the country will go further by introducing additional restrictions on features deemed particularly harmful to children. These include blocking livestreaming and communication with strangers for users under 16, while similar protections will be enabled by default for 16- and 17-year-olds. The government is also considering overnight curfews and measures to limit infinite scrolling for minors."We're going further than any country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and putting wider protections in place to give kids their childhood back," Starmer said in a statement. Social media is making children unhappy and is designed to be addictive, Starmer said at a press conference, adding that he didn't take the decision lightly. CNBC has reached out to Alphabet and Meta for comment. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
A tentative U.S.-Iran peace deal has sparked market optimism, but analysts warn that oil-price volatility may persist in the near term. Global oil inventories have declined to low levels due to the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and Westpac notes that these inventories will need time to be rebuilt and may fall further before new Gulf supplies arrive. The bank emphasizes that while easing global tensions is welcome, uncertainty remains high due to unresolved details. TD Securities' global head of commodity strategy, Bart Melek, stated on CNBC that even if Strait of Hormuz flows normalize immediately, around 800 million barrels of inventory losses through November will likely pressure the market. He cautioned that higher oil prices and inflationary implications are still "very much in the cards," though massive spikes could be prevented if China halts drawing on its inventories. "The market is quite relieved that we're having a deal, but I think we're not out of the woods yet," Melek added. HSBC Private Bank's Willem Sels noted that the Middle East conflict's economic effects have already impacted the most vulnerable regions, particularly in South Asia. He predicted challenging economic data and mark-to-market volatility. On Monday, Asian markets rallied on risk-on sentiment after the apparent deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 4.87% to $83.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate for July dropped 5.71% to $80.03 per barrel. Overall, analysts agree that while the deal provides relief, sustained stability in oil markets remains uncertain.
U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday and a peace agreement with Iran, triggering a global relief rally for stocks. The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a deal that aims for an immediate and permanent end to the conflict. Trump announced on Truth Social that the deal is complete, authorizing the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and removal of the U.S. naval blockade. Iran reaffirms its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and the pact includes an immediate halt to hostilities across the region, including between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. World leaders, including the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy, welcomed the deal, calling it "a moment of opportunity to restore regional stability and stabilise the global economy," and said they are prepared to lift sanctions in response to verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear program. The agreement is set to be signed after G7 meetings this week; Trump will travel to Evian-les-Bains to join G7 leaders and heads of state from the Middle East and Asia, with the signing in Geneva on Friday. Markets cheered: U.S. stock futures spiked, the Nikkei led a relief rally in Asia Pacific, and oil prices tumbled to levels not seen since March 10. However, Trump warned France of a fresh trade war, threatening 100% tariffs on French wines if President Macron does not drop the digital tax on U.S. tech companies. Meanwhile, CEOs of major AI companies are set to join G7 leaders, but talks are complicated by a U.S. directive to Anthropic to suspend its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for export controls. Separately, Meta spent over $14 billion to bring Scale AI's Alexandr Wang and his team to revamp its AI efforts, resulting in the Muse Spark AI model in April, marking Meta's first proprietary foundation model.
Shares of Chinese AI developer Zhipu surged Monday as Wall Street banks raised bets on its global AI demand capture, while the U.S. tightens curbs on foreign access to advanced models. Knowledge Atlas Technology, Zhipu’s Hong Kong-listed entity, rose as much as 48% before paring to 33% higher at HK$1,461. JPMorgan maintained an overweight rating, raising its price target to HK$1,400 from HK$950, citing model visibility and pricing power, while downgrading rival MiniMax. MiniMax shares rose 7.4%. Bank of America initiated coverage with “buy” ratings on both, setting targets of HK$1,250 for Zhipu and HK$500 for MiniMax. The moves followed the Trump administration’s Friday order for Anthropic to suspend access to its most advanced AI models (Fable 5 and Mythos 5) for foreign nationals, including non-citizen employees, over national security concerns. On the same day, Zhipu announced GLM-5.2, its latest open-source large model, to be released with no usage restrictions. The company framed it as a rejoinder: “Cutting-edge intelligence should not belong to only a few.” Preliminary feedback indicated GLM-5.2 performs comparably to Claude Opus 4.7 in coding and long-horizon tasks, per Macquarie’s Ellie Jiang, who maintained “outperform” with a target of HK$1,221.4. U.S. developers face pressure to restrict access, while Chinese players lean into open distribution, drawing demand from cost-sensitive enterprise users. Chinese models are gaining traction as “cheap-and-capable performers” as U.S. prices rise, according to BofA. Zhipu raised cloud API prices by 8–17% in April, its second hike this year, to respond to demand and investor profit pressures. The Anthropic curbs revived talent race debates: Z-Ben Advisors noted ~40% of U.S.-based AI engineers were born in China, and the directive bars them from systems they helped build, warning of “brain flight” to Chinese firms like DeepSeek. Zhipu’s shares have surged over tenfold since its January IPO, buoyed by optimism. MiniMax, also listed earlier, lags. Zhipu’s market cap is HK$489 billion, nearly four times MiniMax’s HK$124.2 billion. Both plan listings on Shanghai’s STAR Market. BofA called Zhipu’s premium justified by faster ARR growth, talent density, and enterprise exposure, while MiniMax is a potential catch-up trade.
President Donald Trump has warned France must scrap a 3% tech "sales tax" or face 100% tariffs on U.S. imports of its wines and champagne, the NY Post reported Monday.The president issued the threat ahead of this week's G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France."I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France," Trump told the Post.The digital services tax, approved by French lawmakers in 2019, involves a 3% levy on gross revenues generated in France by large technology companies, including U.S. giants such as Amazon, Meta and Alphabet.Exports to the U.S. make up about one-fifth of the French wine industry's total global sales, at about $2 billion annually. It is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted France's wine industry with retaliatory measures.In 2019, the U.S. raised the possibility of imposing hefty charges on tech imports, including wine, in response to the then-new levy, which it said was discriminatory against U.S. companies.In January this year, Trump said he would use a 200% tariff on French wines and champagne to force Macron to join his Board of Peace initiative. Wine exports from France to the U.S. fell 15.9% in value in 2025 to 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion), from 2.4 billion euros in 2024, according to the American Association of Wine Economists, citing data published by the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes, France's customs service. In a LinkedIn post, the AAWE said it was not clear whether the fall was caused by tariffs or a broader consumer shift toward cheaper wines.CNBC has approached the French government for comment.