Global markets slid Monday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed following a weekend of airstrikes between Tehran and Washington. South Korea's Kospi fell close to 9%, dragged by a 15% collapse in SK Hynix stock in Seoul — wiping out the gains the chipmaker logged during its Nasdaq $NDAQ debut on Friday.
Among chipmakers in premarket trading, Micron $MU Technology was off 5.2%, Sandisk gave back 6.3%, and Seagate $STX Technology shed 4%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Intel $INTC also moved lower, according to CNBC. SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares were down roughly 9%. Nasdaq-100 futures were down about 1% ahead of the open, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.3%. Dow futures were near flat.
Over the weekend, the U.S. and Iran struck each other's assets, with Iranian forces hitting American facilities across several Gulf nations and claiming the Strait of Hormuz was shut. Trump pushed back on that assertion Sunday, telling reporters that commercial shipping continued to move through the waterway. The exchange followed his decision Saturday to launch airstrikes on Iran in retaliation for an Iranian strike on a merchant ship in the strait.
Escalating tensions in the region pushed energy prices higher. Brent crude was trading near $78–$79 a barrel, up close to 3%, and WTI reached about $73.49, posting a comparable gain.
Across the Atlantic, the pan-European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.1% in Monday morning trading, with chip-related names tracking losses seen earlier in Asia and energy shares bucking the trend with gains. In Asian closing trade, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 retreated 1.92% and the CSI 300 in mainland China finished 1.79% lower.
Beyond the geopolitical backdrop, investors are looking ahead to a busy stretch of corporate reporting. A roster of 28 S&P 500 names is scheduled to post results this week, headlined by the biggest U.S. banks — JPMorgan $JPM Chase, Goldman Sachs $GS, Morgan Stanley $MS, Bank of America $BAC, Citigroup $C, and Wells Fargo $WFC — with Netflix $NFLX, Johnson & Johnson $JNJ, and UnitedHealth $UNH also on the calendar, according to CNBC.
The June consumer price index report is due Tuesday morning. New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is also scheduled to testify before Congress Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The strait situation would cast a shadow over sentiment, but near-term attention would remain split among the CPI release, Warsh's testimony, and the start of bank earnings season, according to Ben Emons, founder of Fed Watch Advisors, as quoted by CNBC.