Market News

• GfK consumer sentiment -29.8 vs -34.0 expected
• Prior -33.3; revised to -33.1

German consumer sentiment is seen recovering slightly heading into June, amid a rebound in households' income expectations. The reading there shows an improvement to -13.0, after recording a -24.4 estimate for May last month. That being said, the index for willingness to buy among consumers remains subdued at -13.2 - marking just a minor improvement from -14.4 previously.

GfK notes that:

"The German consumer climate has, at least for the moment, ended its downward trend and is recovering somewhat this month."

Still, it's no time to be all too cheerful. As price pressures continue to ramp up with the US-Iran conflict being prolonged, that will only continue to inflict…

In the likes of Germany, France, Switzerland, and Austria, there will be a public holiday in observance of Whit Monday (general naming convention). However, the Euronext and Xetra bourses/platforms will be open for trading although the Swiss stock exchange will be closed.

So even with some markets being open, don't expect much liquidity to feed through to broader markets today. That will make for rather exacerbated price action moves to any news or headlines. I'm not saying that the early risk-on wave in markets today may be just that, but there is a possibility.

That especially since it is also a market holiday in the UK and US. London markets will be closed in observance of the Spring Bank Holiday. So, that will make for rather thin…

• Huawei targets 1.4nm chip density by 2031 with new design law to beat US sanctions
• Rupee may be undervalued after recent slide, RBI governor Malhotra says
• New Fed chair Warsh faces hawkish FOMC as rate cut hopes fade on Iran war
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.8318 (vs. estimate at 6.7880)
• Singapore central bank signals rate stability ahead as Singapore Q1 growth beats forecasts
• Singapore smashes growth estimates but trade ministry flags Middle East risks
• Lagarde flags ECB inflation forecast revision ahead of June 11 rate decision
• NZIER shadow board backs RBNZ hold this week (May 27) at 2.25% but rate rises seen ahead
• Oil is trading even lower after its big gap down at Globex reopen
• Hope is up. So is AUD, equites (ES +0.4% , NQ…

Huawei says it expects to design chips with transistor density equivalent to 1.4nm processes by 2031 using a new scaling principle that sidesteps the need for advanced lithography tools restricted by US sanctions.

Summary: Source: Huawei statement and keynote address at the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Shanghai

• Huawei unveiled the Tau Scaling Law, a new chip design principle focused on reducing signal travel time rather than shrinking transistors, presented at the ISCAS conference in Shanghai on Monday
• The company projects it can design chips with transistor density equivalent to 1.4nm processes by 2031, close to the expected global frontier for advanced chipmaking by decade-end
• Huawei said it has already…

Singapore's economy grew 6.0% year-on-year in Q1 2026, well above the advance estimate of 4.6%, though the trade ministry kept its full-year forecast at 2.0% to 4.0% amid Iran war risks. (

Summary: Source: Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry

• Q1 GDP came in at 6.0% year-on-year, well above both the advance estimate of 4.6% and the Reuters poll consensus of 5.1%; the quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted reading was 1.0%, reversing an advance estimate of a 0.3% contraction
• The MTI held its full-year 2026 growth forecast at 2.0% to 4.0% but said the Middle East conflict has significantly raised downside risks and weakened the external demand outlook compared to its February assessment
• Non-oil domestic exports are forecast to grow 3.0% to…

Nothing on the calendar today, and plenty of holidays:

• locally, Hong Kong is out
• US
• UK and some European countires

Hong Kong's absence will thin out liquidity a little.

• Stocks remain higher but off highs as hope fades ahead of the weekend for peace
• Sky News Arabia: Negotiations in Tehran have reached an agreement on nuclear issue
• Bakers Hughes total rig count 758 in the current week, Up 5 for the week
• WSJ: Critical Stage in Iran negotiations: Mediators rush to prevent military action
• New Fed Chair Warsh: Ours is a time of great consequence
• Trump: I expect Kevin Warsh to go down as one of the very best Fed Chairman.
• More Waller: Hawkish comments from the Fed Governor
• Feds Waller: Does not expect change in policy in the near term
• UMich May final consumer sentiment 44.8 vs 48.2 expected
• Reuters:Qatar send negotiating team to Tehran to help secure a end of war deal
• Fed interest rates explained at investingLive.com
• <a…

As the week comes to a close, US stocks are giving back some of their earlier gains. The major indices remain higher on the day, with the Dow up 0.74%, the S&P up 0.46%, and the Nasdaq higher by 0.23%, but all are well off their session highs as traders react to the latest geopolitical headlines.

The focus remains on Iran, where reports suggest officials are demanding an end to the conflict from all sides, the lifting of blockades, and the release of frozen funds as part of any broader agreement. At the same time, reports indicate President Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the situation. He has adjusted his schedule to remain in Washington during the heightened tensions and is expected to miss his son’s wedding this weekend.…

Sky News Arabia is reporting:

• Negotiations in Tehran have reached an understanding on broad outlines regarding the nuclear issue.
• Delivery of Uranium would be linked to lifting the sanctions and would be gradual.
• Focused on an understanding regarding the Strait of Hormuz which is still in negotiations.
• Iran still wants American guarantees for any agreement reached.

Crude oil has reached a new low at $94.73. The current price is at $95.84. That is the lowest level since May 8th. Price is down but the oil needs to flow to rebuild stockpiles and get prices lower.The Univ. of Michigan consumer sentiment sent a shot across the bow with sentiment lower due to higher gas prices and also higher inflation expectations. That is not a good optic. …

Baker Hughes rig count

• Oil rig count =10 to 425
• Natural Gas Rig cound -3 to 125
• Total rig count for the week +7 to 558

The price of crude oil is trading at $96.35 which is near unchanged on the day. The price remains below the 100 and 200 hour MA which is more bearish. Those MA come in near $100.74. The price before the February 28 start of the Iran War was near the low $60.

This week, U.S. crude oil inventories posted a much larger-than-expected draw this week, highlighting strong demand conditions and continued tightness in the physical oil market. Commercial crude stockpiles fell by 7.9 million barrels to 445 million barrels, marking the fourth consecutive weekly decline and leaving inventories about 2% below the five-year average.…

The WSJ are reporting that negotiations over Iran are at a critical stage, with mediators urgently trying to secure at least a temporary framework agreement to prevent renewed U.S. and Israeli military action. The core dispute centers on how quickly Iran must make nuclear concessions in exchange for sanctions relief and an end to hostilities. While there has reportedly been modest diplomatic progress, both sides remain far apart, and officials warn that failure to reach even a limited understanding could trigger new strikes and broader regional escalation. You have to start somewhere and putting the effort to small steps diplomatically is still the favored path. However, the sticking points remain including what about the nuclear…

• Prior was 48.2

Details:

• Conditions 45.8 vs 48.0 prelim
• Prior 47.8
• Expectations 44.1 vs 48.5 prelim
• Prior 48.5
• 1-year inflation 4.8% vs 4.6% prelim (Prior was 4.5%)
• 5-year inflation 3.9% vs 3.4% prelim (Prior was 3.4%)

UMich notes: "Consumer sentiment fell for the third straight month as supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to boost gasoline prices. Sentiment is now just below the previous historical trough seen in June 2022. The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month.

Lower-income consumers and those without college degrees posted particularly strong sentiment declines; these groups are more…