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- Iran talks on hold after U.S. hits military targets and Iran strikes ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Oil prices climb slightly, while markets also are trading up.
- SpaceX is poised to become one of the quickest additions to the Nasdaq-100 index.
- Firms like Apple and Microsoft are raising prices due to the memory crunch, but smaller firms are facing a tough choice.
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency on June 18, 2026, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz. Amirhossein Khorgooei | Afp | Getty Images
Hello, this is Hui Jie writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Tensions in the Middle East flared again over the weekend, but markets appeared largely unfazed, with investors instead turning their attention to a tech recovery rally.
SpaceX is set to become one of the fastest-ever additions to the Nasdaq-100 index, while the memory crunch is forcing some smaller tech firms into increasingly difficult choices.
Read on!
What you need to know today
For markets, the Iran conflict is starting to resemble the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”
The opening bars have a familiar rhythm: tensions appear to ease, oil calms down, stocks find their footing and investors start the week ready to sing along.
But then comes the extended outro. Another strike, another threat, another weekend escalation — and just when it seems like the song should be winding down, it starts all over again.
The U.S. struck Iranian military targets over the weekend after Iran had reportedly attacked a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker on Saturday, briefly putting talks to end the war on hold. Iran’s neighbors, Kuwait and Bahrain, also reported incoming missiles and drones overnight.
This prompted U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to renew his warnings to Iran, saying there could come a point when the U.S. would “no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
But true to the song’s extended finale, the conflict quickly returned to familiar territory: the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt hostilities once more.
A U.S. official told CNBC Sunday that “technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU.”
“Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” the official said.
Oil prices climbed modestly following the escalation, with international benchmark Brent at $72.31 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures at $69.82.
Investors, however, appeared more fixated on whether last week’s tech sell-off has finally run its course. Asia markets started the week mixed, while U.S. market futures climbed.
Chip stocks came under pressure last Friday after a New York Times report said OpenAI is considering delaying its IPO until next year, partly because of SpaceX’s weak performance after its debut and broader volatility in AI-related shares.
Despite that weakness, SpaceX is poised to become one of the fastest additions ever to the Nasdaq-100 index, a move that could see buying by index-tracking funds and other product sponsors after the market closes on July 6.
Elsewhere in tech, the memory crunch is becoming increasingly painful. Companies such as Apple and Microsoft have been able to pass higher costs on to consumers, but smaller firms have far less pricing power.
GoPro, the maker of action cameras, warned this month that it might go out of business after memory costs shot up between 80% and 115% at the end of the first quarter. And shares of speaker maker Sonos are down 23% this year as memory prices pressure margins.
And finally…
Purchasing concert tickets has long been a high-stakes affair, with popular events often selling out within minutes.
Increasingly, however, fans are competing against automated ticket-buying programs, commonly referred to as bots, that can snap up seats in seconds before reselling them at higher prices.
This has distorted access not only to concert tickets but also to everyday services such as train ticket reservations.
— Sydney Goh
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