Morning Wrap: Asia dips on SK Hynix earnings and Iranian attacks! Dollar stalls before Fed (29.07.2026)

📉 US & European Stocks & Indices

• Wall Street index futures remain under pressure from Middle East tensions and results from Nvidia's key supplier, SK Hynix, which failed to beat investor expectations.

• Nasdaq 100 futures (US100) are losing the most (-0.5%), S&P 500 (US500) and Russell 2000 (US2000) futures are down around 0.15%, while Dow Jones futures (US30) are trading flat, supported by a heavy concentration of traditional "value" stocks.

• The European EU50 index is also in the red (-0.3%).

🌏 Asian Session

• Asian markets suffered a sharp sell-off triggered by Middle East tensions, rising oil prices, fears of a hawkish Fed, and anxiety over AI stock valuations.

• At the worst point, South Korea's KOSPI plunged up to 11%, while Taiwan's benchmark index dropped nearly 4%. Nikkei 225 futures (JP225) are down 1.6%. China's HSCEI remains slightly in positive territory (CHN.cash: +0.8%).

• Tech giants led the declines: SK Hynix plummeted over 9% despite record revenues, Samsung shed 5–8%, and TSMC fell over 2%.

• SK Hynix: The company's operating profit rose 557% to 60.5 trillion won in the last quarter, but both operating profit and revenue fell short of forecasts. Results from Nvidia's key memory supplier intensified fears that the AI boom and strong semiconductor momentum are slowing, triggering a sharp sell-off in US after-hours trading (-6%).

🏦 Macroeconomics & Geopolitics

• Middle East Escalation: Iran stated that if no agreement is reached with Oman, it will continue its current stance regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, Iran launched ballistic missiles toward a US base in Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordan's state news agency reported that its forces intercepted five incoming missiles from Iran.

• Australian CPI Inflation: CPI inflation fell faster than expected, easing from 4.0% in May to 3.8% YoY in June. The quarterly rate for Q2 also declined (from 4.1% to 3.9%, forecast: 4.1%). The trimmed mean metric came in at 3.6% (forecast: 3.7%, prior: 3.5%). Although housing costs continued to rise rapidly (+6.8%), transport inflation slowed sharply. Overall, the data cools expectations for a central bank rate hike at the upcoming August meeting. The Australian dollar (AUD) is retreating against all G10 currencies.

💱 FX, Commodities & Cryptocurrencies

• Foreign Exchange (FX): The US Dollar Index is stalling ahead of the Fed decision (USDIDX: -0.1%). The Australian dollar is the weakest G10 currency today following weaker-than-expected CPI inflation (AUDUSD: -0.25%, AUDNZD: -0.3%). Broad gains are being posted by the New Zealand dollar (NZDUSD: -0.3%) and the Japanese yen (USDJPY: -0.2%), both supported by relatively hawkish pressure on their domestic central banks. EURUSD is gaining a modest 0.05% to 1.1399.

• Crude Oil & API Report: Brent crude futures are rebounding 3.3% to around $84–85 per barrel. Meanwhile, the weekly API fuel report showed an unexpected, large build in US crude inventories (+3.3M barrels vs an expected draw of -1.35M) and gasoline (+0.92M vs -1.2M), signaling weaker-than-expected demand.

• Precious Metals: Gold volatility is slowing alongside the dollar ahead of the FOMC decision (currently trading flat near $4,030/oz), while silver is gaining 1.3% to $57.90/oz.

• Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin has similarly flattened out (flat near $64,000), while Ethereum is edging down 0.5% to $1,914.