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There have been various reports about whether the US and Iran are talking. Now Rubio says that talks are continuing.

Another notable line from him is that "there is a prospect that Iran has agreed to negotiate aspects of nuclear program that they previously refused to mention in discussions".

So that's potentially positive. WTI crude oil is down 25 cents to $91.91 but is up from the session low of $90.12.

• Prior was 6.866 million
• Hires vs 5.60 million prior
• Separations 5.4 million prior
• Quits vs 3.17 million prior
• Vacancy rate vs 4.2% prior
• Layoffs and discharges vs 1.9 million prior

For background, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a crucial economic indicator that provides a comprehensive view of the labor market's health. While standard employment reports focus on net job creation and unemployment rates, JOLTS digs deeper into the underlying dynamics of workforce turnover. It measures total job openings, hires, and separations, including quits, layoffs, and discharges. Policymakers, particularly at the Federal Reserve, closely monitor JOLTS data to gauge…

Shares of Alphabet are down 2.9% after the company announced it's diluting existing shareholders by 1.7% via an $80 billion equity raise.

To me, this marks a new chapter in the AI arms race and is the strongest sign yet that it's an arms race of the likes never seen before in corporate history.

Just over a year ago, the hyperscalers were gushing free cash flow and in the past year, they've flipped to spending it all on buying chips, competing for talent and building data centers. Once that well ran dry, they began to issue debt, tainting the once-pristine balance sheets of the biggest companies in the world.

In the previous year, Google had raised $85 billion in debt, including a 100-year bond. The problem, is that with the war in Iran, the…

• ECB policymaker Rehn says June rate move would be an "insurance" hike
• Marvell Technology stock soars as Nvidia CEO says it's "the next trillion-dollar company"
• Euro area inflation continues to pick up in May, core prices nudge up as well
• Gold analysis shows it repaired higher. See my targets.
• UK mortgage approvals climbs in April, holds above six-month average
• European Parliament votes to remove import duties on US goods to comply with trade deal
• BoJ taper debate heats up as rising yields complicate exit strategy
• The Japanese yen extends losses as June rate hike bets continue to look wrong
• Palladium is looking good for the bulls. See where PA can go & where that might change
• Gold nudges back up today but still caught in a bit of a technical bind
• <a…

• CPI +3.2% vs +3.2% y/y expected
• Prior +3.0%
• Core CPI +2.5% vs +2.4% y/y expected
• Prior +2.2%

The headline estimate moves up in May, as expected, with energy price inflation being the standout once again. Even though energy prices were down 1.1% on the month, it is still up by 10.9% year-on-year (up from 10.8% in April). Besides that, the monthly estimates show a broadening in the increase in price pressures across the region.

Of note, services inflation was up 0.4% on the month. Meanwhile, inflation for non-energy industrial goods also increased by 0.2% on the month. Food price inflation was flat in May compared to the month before.

Overall, services inflation jumped up to 3.5% (previously 3.0%) with food price inflation holding at 2.0%. The…

IC Markets Global – Europe Fundamental Forecast | 02 June 2026

What happened in the Asia session?

Geopolitical whipsaw over Middle East peace talks, where conflicting headlines about Iran suspending negotiations, followed by Trump’s reassurances that talks continued, created risk-averse sentiment that capped AI-driven optimism. This uncertainty knocked Asian equities lower (Nikkei -0.7%, KOSPI -2%, MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan -0.5%), while Brent crude held near $95/barrel on supply disruption fears from the three-month U.S.-Iran war.

What does it mean for the Europe & US sessions?

Alphabet’s announcement of an $80 billion equity raise, including a $10 billion private investment from Berkshire Hathaway, to fund massive AI infrastructure…

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.90%, Shanghai Composite down 0.02% Hang Seng up 1.10% ASX down 0.55%
• Commodities : Gold at $4,517.12 (0.23%) Silver at $75.435 (0.24%), Brent Oil at $95.61 (-0.40%), WTI Oil at $91.73 (0.50%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.448, UK 10-year yield at 4.9020, Germany 10-year yield at 3.0130

• (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI  -0.1%  to 0.1%   expected

Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on Tuesday as investors assessed renewed uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace negotiations, despite record closes on Wall Street driven by technology stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.32%, while the broader Topix index lost 1.14%. South Korea’s Kospi…

The latest money and credit data from the BOE shows that net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals decreased to £4.4 billion in April. That follows from the £6.8 billion recorded in March. As for net mortgage approvals, that is seen increasing to 65,900 as compared to 64,000 in the month before. The figure is holding above an average of around 63,100 over the previous six months.

Overall, that continues to indicate a solid benchmark for future borrowing. And if anything, it continues to suggest some added resilience in the housing market so far this year.

And that comes despite the ‘effective’ interest rate - the actual interest paid - on newly drawn mortgages having increased to 4.08%.

Looking to net consumer credit, that is seen…