Market News

Just when the EU looks to have settled one thing on the tariffs front, they are now getting thrown another curveball by the US. Yesterday, the EU parliament voted in favour of the legislation to remove duties on many US goods and imports.

That move is one to avoid another clash with the US on trade, essentially ratifying the trade deal from last year. It's a move that they wanted to get done quickly as Trump's reciprocal tariffs was shot down by the Supreme Court.

But now, we're seeing this put out by the administration in Washington: US proposes 10% tariffs on 60 nations, forced-labour Section 301 probe

And that is creating another ruckus on the trade front internationally.

The EU is out responding to this as calling the latest tariffs as…

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 2.93%, Shanghai Composite up 0.56% Hang Seng down 1.71% ASX up 0.85%
• Commodities : Gold at $4,509.01 (-0.23%) Silver at $75.283 (-0.36%), Brent Oil at $97.01 (1.05%), WTI Oil at $94.88 (1.19%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.461, UK 10-year yield at 4.8620, Germany 10-year yield at 2.9744

• (USD) JOLTS Job Openings  7.62 M  to 6.87M   expected

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 reaching a record high as investors largely brushed aside uncertainty surrounding ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.

Geopolitical tensions remain elevated after U.S. Secretary of…

• Iran's foreign ministry condemns US strikes on Iranian tanker and Qeshm island
• Stresses direct responsibility of Kuwait and Bahrain rulers for permitting attacks
• Reserves right to defend against any country permitting US use of territory or airspace for attacks

Iran's Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned US military strikes on an Iranian tanker and on Qeshm Island. Tehran also placed direct responsibility on the rulers of Kuwait and Bahrain for allowing their territory and airspace to be used in support of US military operations against Iran. The ministry said Iran reserves the right to defend itself against any country that facilitates future attacks by the United States.

The statement comes after one of the most significant escalations…

IC Markets Global – Europe Fundamental Forecast | 03 June 2026

What happened in the Asia session?

Escalating Middle East conflict that pushed oil higher and gold lower, while the USD firmed against the yen as geopolitics boosted safe-haven demand. Simultaneously, mixed Asia data, China’s services rebound versus Australia’s growth slowdown, created divergent impacts on regional currencies and equities, with crude oil, gold, USD/JPY, and the Australian dollar experiencing the most pronounced moves as traders priced in both inflation risks and geopolitical uncertainty.

What does it mean for the Europe & US sessions?

Renewed Middle East tensions pushing crude oil up more than 1% and lifting safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar, which pushed…

• Services PMI 47.7 vs 46.4 prelim
• Prior 47.6
• Composite PMI 48.5 vs 47.5 prelim
• Prior 48.8

Despite the troubles in France, the overall Eurozone services economy managed to hold up in May. However, private sector business activity as a whole fell to an 18-month low and marked back-to-back months of contraction for the first time since the end of 2024.

Looking to the services sector, total new order inflows fell again for a third straight month. And while slowing from April, the pace of decline was nonetheless the second-sharpest since November 2024.

On the prices front, the latest data showed a further intensification of inflationary pressures across the region. Input costs rose at the sharpest rate in three-and-half years, while charge inflation…

• Prior 52.7
• Final Composite PMI 49.7 vs 48.5 prelim
• Prior 52.6

Key findings:

• Business activity decreases for the first time since April 2025
• Marginal falls in service sector output and new orders
• Sharp increase in input prices
• Business activity expectations ease to a 13-month low

Comment:

Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:

"UK service sector companies signalled a reversal of fortunes in May as business activity fell into contraction after showing some resilience earlier this spring. Subdued business and consumer demand, across both domestic and overseas markets, was cited as holding back performance.

"Many service sector companies noted that the Middle East conflict had an adverse impact on sales pipelines and…

US Stocks Push Higher Again to Hit New Records – Dow up 0.45%

US equity markets continued their march higher overnight, with all three major indices once again closing at fresh record highs as investors balanced encouraging economic data and AI euphoria against ongoing uncertainty surrounding developments in the Middle East. The Dow Jones gained 0.45% to close at 51,307, while the S&P 500 rose 0.13% to 7,609, and the Nasdaq edged 0.03% higher to finish at 27,093.

The latest move higher in equities came despite a relatively cautious tone across broader financial markets. Investors were encouraged by stronger-than-expected US labour market data from the JOLTS Job Openings report, reinforcing expectations that the US economy remains…

IC Markets Global – Asia Fundamental Forecast | 03 June 2026

What happened in the U.S. session?

AI-infused tech rally—HPE’s blowout results and Alphabet’s massive Berkshire-backed capital raise paired with hotter-than-expected JOLTs job openings that cemented a “higher-for-longer” rate outlook, pushing tech equities (especially HPE, Marvell, and Nvidia) to sharp gains while the dollar showed early signs of exhaustion and oil remained caught between Middle East peace hopes and supply-risk fears.

What does it mean for the Asia Session?

US-Iran conflict for oil price spikes and safe-haven flows into gold, while watching for currency interventions by Asian central banks defending against oil-driven inflation. The Bank of Korea’s hawkish…

• Services PMI 44.3 vs 42.9 prelim
• Prior 46.5
• Composite PMI 44.9 vs 43.5 prelim
• Prior 47.6

Even with an improvement to the initial estimates, this is still a very poor reading for French services activity. Of note, both activity and new business levels decreased at their steepest rates in five-and-a-half years with employment conditions also deteriorating at its quickest pace since early last year.

Adding more woes to the weakening business sentiment is that the French economy saw a further sharp uplift in inflationary pressures during May.

The rate of input price inflation accelerated for the third straight month in May, reaching its highest in just over three years. Meanwhile, French service providers raised their charges midway through the…

• Prior 46.9
• Final Composite PMI 48.8 vs 48.6 prelim
• Prior 48.4

Key findings:

• Service sector remains in contraction in May, but expectations rebound
• Business activity falls for second month running, albeit at a slower pace
• Expectations for activity in the next 12 months rebound from April's low
• Output price inflation eases despite persistent strong cost pressures

Comment:

Phil Smith, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence:

"The service sector remained mired in contraction territory in May, thereby raising the prospect of the overall economy also slipping into contraction in the second quarter following a solid growth performance in the opening three months of the year.

"Demand for services continues to be stifled by a…