Trading Day: Stocks rally, oil hits pre-Iran-war lows as Strait of Hormuz reopens for business
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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NEW YORK, June 18 : A tech-powered rally boosted U.S. stocks on Thursday, while crude prices dropped as supertankers sailed through the reopened Strait of Hormuz hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a peace deal with Iran.
With U.S. markets closed on Friday in observance of Juneteenth, Wall Street’s three major equity indexes notched gains on the holiday-shortened week as investors processed Middle East developments and a hawkish pivot from the Warsh Fed.
I will go into more detail on today’s market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
1. Three Saudi-flagged supertankers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after U.S.-Iran peace deal signed
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2. Ukrainian drones evaded Russian air defenses to strike an oil refinery in southeast Moscow for the second time in three days
3. Israel published a map of an expanded military control zone in Lebanon, challenging the terms of the U.S.-Iran agreement
4. The Bank of England voted 7-2 to hold borrowing costs steady as it continues to monitor inflation pressures
5. U.S. weekly jobless claims fell last week but the underlying trend has an upward bias, suggesting moderation in the pace of job growth
6. Space startups are speaking with insurers about coverage for orbital AI data centers
Today’s Key Market Moves
• STOCKS: U.S. stock indexes gain, Nasdaq up 1.9 per cent; Europe’s STOXX 600 dips
• SECTORS/SHARES: Chips surge; energy and aerospace/defense lag
• FX: Dollar hits one-year high on rate hike bets; yen weakness draws warnings from Japanese officials
• BONDS: U.S. Treasury yields dip the day after Warsh’s debut as Fed Chair
• COMMODITIES/METALS: Brent, WTI crude prices touch pre-Iran-war lows; gold drops
Today’s Talking Points
* Investors brace for less predictable Fed under Chairman Warsh
The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to be less predictable as the central bank with Kevin Warsh at the helm.
While the Fed left its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, investors were blindsided by new projections and remarks from the new chairman indicating that the Fed will pull back from signaling future rate moves.
Warsh also announced a review of the central bank’s operations.
* Central banks to continue raising borrowing costs after Iran peace deal
Central banks around the world are no longer able to look past the inflation surge related to the Iran war, and many have either hiked rates or suggested they will, amid estimates that normalization of energy prices would last well into next year.
The Bank of England joined the Fed in signaling the likelihood of rate hikes, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan have already pulled the trigger.
* Trump blows up spy bill after Senate Republicans nix voter ID legislation
In a sign of a growing rift with President Trump just months before midterm elections, Senate Republicans have begun to say “no” to the commander-in-chief.
After their refusal to pass the SAVE America Act, which would impose strict voter documentation requirements and do away with the filibuster, the president derailed a Senate plan to pass a key national security bill this week in order to protect his controversial choice of loyalist Bill Pulte as acting U.S. spy chief.
What could move markets tomorrow?
• Developments in the Middle East
• Energy market moves
• Social media posts from Trump
• Germany producer prices (May)
• UK retail sales (May)
• Canada retail sales (April)
• Poland industrial output (May)
• Moody’s review of Canada and Slovakia’s credit ratings
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Source: Reuters
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