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Nordic Baseload Power asks for Swedish support in building nuclear plants near Denmark
The Swedish government announced on Tuesday that the energy company Nordic Baseload has applied for financial assistance to build two "full-scale" nuclear reactors in a region of southern Sweden near Malmo, just 22 km from Copenhagen. The application calls for two reactors that can produce 2,500 megawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to the annual power consumption of up to 2,000,000 households. "Sweden needs more stable electricity production." Niklas?Wykman, the Deputy Minister for Finance, stated that it is positive that there continues to be a high level of interest in investing in nuclear power. Sweden operated nuclear reactors in?Barseback between the mid-1970s and 2005. The location is controversial. Danish politicians have always been critical of Swedish nuclear energy so close to their border, and pushed for Sweden to shut down?Barseback. Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Danish capital and Malmo in Sweden, is the most densely-populated area of the Nordics. It has 4.4 million people. This is the fourth application that the government has received for new nuclear plants. The government is planning 'four large-scale nuclear reactors with an installed capacity of?around 5,000 MW, or equivalent small modular reactors. The government plans to have half of them operational by 2035. (Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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SpaceX shares set to surpass Amazon in terms of market value
Elon Musk’s SpaceX shares extended a 'post-IPO rally' and rose?more than 8% in Tuesday's premarket trading,?putting 'the company on track to surpass Amazon.com's market value in order to become the fifth largest company in the world. The stock rose 8.5% to $208.90. This is more than 54% higher than its $135 IPO and gives the company a total market capitalization of $2.75 trillion if these gains continue. Amazon is valued at $2.66 trillion and Microsoft at $2.95 trillion. The top three companies in the world are worth more than $4 trillion. "We can state with certainty that the valuation of this company today is completely absurd. "People are buying SpaceX with the expectation that other people will also buy and push up the price - this is speculation," said Ipek zkardeskaya senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank. The company posted sales of $18.67 Billion last year, and a loss of $4.94 Billion after combining with the money-losing xAI. This is in stark contrast to other big Wall Street technology companies who have reported bumper numbers. SpaceX's options activities are expected to start as early as Tuesday. The initial activity is expected to be volatile, heavy and expensive. Analysts and Portfolio Managers warned investors to expect volatility in the early days of SpaceX as a publicly traded company due to its small float and high valuation. SpaceX's inclusion on the Nasdaq 100 could lead to a further rally, as it will become a major holding of passive funds and ETFs that track the index. This would create a new source of demand for the company's shares. FTSE Russell, MSCI and other indexes are set to include the stock in their respective indices as of June 26?and 29?respectively. In a recent note, Zephirin Group stated that "Index inclusion alone is not sufficient to drive sustained repricing. We?see a combination of passive flows, momentum and limited float which are driving uplift beyond previous index-addition movements." SpaceX said that its underwriters exercised their "greenshoe option" to buy additional shares on Monday, bringing the total proceeds of?its initial IPO to $85.7 billion. This is an increase from the $75 billion it raised last weekend. As of?07 a.m., more than $3 billion in SpaceX shares had been traded. ET, this was more than?three times the volume of trading in Nvidia, Microsoft, Tesla and Apple combined. Nvidia, Alphabet and other heavyweight tech stocks were also trading lower. SpaceX shares lost some of their gains on Tuesday in premarket trade after the company announced that it would be acquiring software company Anysphere at a price of $60 billion.
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Stocks surge as SpaceX fever boosts technology; yen flattens after BOJ rates hikes
The?dollar remained steady against the yen, despite the Bank of Japan raising rates to a record high of 31 years. The markets shifted to a more measured approach on Gulf developments, as initial excitement about the preliminary agreement reached between Washington and Tehran started to fade. Investors were encouraged by SpaceX's massive IPO, which boosted its shares nearly 20% Monday. The market value of the space exploration company now exceeds $2 trillion. In premarket trading, they were up 10.5% on Tuesday. Separately the company announced that it would purchase Anysphere, the software giant behind the popular AI coding agent Cursor for $60 billion in an effort to increase its presence on the enterprise AI market. Nasdaq e-minis futures increased by 0.3% while S&P 500 futures grew 0.1%. Nikkei225 reached 70,000 for the first-time after the Japanese central banks voted to increase its benchmark policy rate from 1% to 1%. This was a level not seen since 1995. The yen remained flat at 160.31 against the dollar. STOXX 600 in Europe rose by 0.4%, hovering near the record high of Monday. Nvidia is the most valuable AI chip maker in the world. It surprised investors when it sold bonds for $25 billion. The company stated that the money would be used to fund general corporate needs and the debt sale would establish a benchmark for future debt issuance. Nvidia's shares fell a bit in premarket trading. Mitch Reznick is the group head of Fixed Income at Federated Hermes. "The important thing is how much systemic inflation we have, its impact on the consumer, and to what extent it has spread throughout the economy." Oil fell another 2.2%, to a 3-month low of just over $81 per barrel. Shippers in Asia and Europe said it could take several weeks for them to rebuild confidence about resuming transit in the Strait of Hormuz. According to ING's Warren Patterson, oil consumers are likely to scramble to replenish their inventories that have been depleted by the war in recent weeks. This means prices will not be able to drop much in the short-term. Investors were initially relieved by Donald Trump's announcement on Monday of a deal between the United States and Iran, but now Washington is at odds with Israel. Westpac analysts said in a research report that while the deal was an important diplomatic step forward, its durability would be tested in the future. Many sticking points were left to be resolved during future negotiations, such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear program. The dollar index (which tracks the U.S. Dollar against six other currencies) was stable around 99.6. The euro rose by 0.1% to $1.1605, and the pound traded at $1.342, two days before a Bank of England meeting which is unlikely to result in any changes to monetary policy. The Australian dollar, which was expected to remain unchanged at $0.707, was also little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note in the United States fell 2.6 basis point to 4.44%. Gold, which is also sensitive U.S. rate expectations, increased 0.7% to $4 336 per ounce. (Gregor Stuart Hunter contributed additional reporting from Singapore; Shri Navaratnam, Jacqueline Wong and Jacqueline Navaratnam edited the story.)
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Four injured and one dead after 6.3 magnitude earthquake in China's Qinghai
State media, citing emergency authorities, reported that a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the province of Qinghai in northwestern China on 'Tuesday. At least one person was killed and four others were injured. China Earthquake Networks Center reported that the quake hit a high-altitude area in Haixi, Qinghai at 5:06 pm Beijing time (906 GMT) Tuesday. State media reported that all coal miners near the epicenter had been evacuated, and that authorities were still assessing property damage and casualties. Earlier, Xinhua had reported that rescuers were rushing to the site to look for?trapped people and assess risks of secondary catastrophes. China's quake?administration activated an?emergency?response for the temblor. It was followed by a number of aftershocks, including one that measured a 4.9 magnitude.
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Russian artist who criticised the Kremlin is shot in Poland
On Tuesday, a Polish prosecutor confirmed that a Russian artist who was critical of President Vladimir Putin had been?shot and died in the eastern Polish city?of BialaPodlaska. Marcin Kozak said at a Lublin press conference that five shots were fired, one of which was to the victim's head. He added that two Belarusians have been arrested, but they are not being charged in the case. Local media have identified Robert Kuzovkov as the victim. He is also known by his pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky. A Russian artist and performer, known for his criticisms of the Russian president, the Russian artist has been identified as the target of Monday's assault. Kozak confirmed the 'dead man', identified by prosecutors as Robert K. was involved in artistic activity where he expressed criticism of the current actions of authorities in the Russian Federation. Skrepetsky, three days before his death, had traveled to Berlin for Russia Day on June 12, a holiday that marks the declaration of sovereignty of the country before the fall of the Soviet Union. He staged a demonstration with a caricature-like icon of Joseph Stalin, and Putin. Kozak told?phone that the identity of the victim was a crucial element in the investigation. Poland claims that its role as the hub for military and other supplies to Ukraine has made it an attractive target for Russian spy agencies who are trying to gather intelligence on the support of Kyiv in their efforts to repel Russia's invaders, as well sabotage. The Russian Embassy in Warsaw did not respond to a request for comment. Jacek Dobrzynski said that the Internal Security Agency was working closely with police and prosecutors in this matter. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson; Additional reporting by Anna Koper, Barbara Erling and Marek Strzelecki)
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Indian shares extend gains on US-Iran peace deal
Indian shares closed higher 'on Tuesday. They advanced for a third consecutive session as a preliminary U.S. - Iran peace deal cooled down oil prices & improved risk appetite. The Nifty?50 increased 0.57%, to?23989.15. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex rose 0.71%, to 76 808.48. This represents gains of 3.6% and 4% respectively in just three sessions. The small-cap and middle-cap indexes each rose 0.4%. Brent crude dropped about 2%, to $81.6 per barrel. This was a good thing for India, which imports oil. The?moderation in oil prices, to around $82 per barrel, along with India's stable macro-fundamentals, steady interest rates, and controlled inflation augurs well after the year-to date underperformance against emerging-market peers, said?Vinit Blinjkar. Foreign portfolio investors, who have sold Indian stocks for a record $30.8 billion in 2026, became net buyers after 13 consecutive sessions of selling. Inflows of $21.2 million were recorded. Bolinjkar said that "coordinated steps taken by the government and central bank to support rupee and attract foreign investors to bonds?are positives to the markets, as they could result in a reversal to foreign outflows." Devyani International, the operator of KFC India, jumped by 2.5%. Sapphire Foods grew by 5%. The company said it received "no objections" from NSE, and "no adverse remarks" from BSE regarding its proposed merger with Sapphire Foods. HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, index heavyweights, rose by 1% and 1,7% respectively to lead benchmark gains. Aluminium producers Hindalco Industries (and?National Aluminium) fell by 3.1% and 4.1% respectively, tracking weaker global aluminum prices. General Insurance Corporation of India fell 8% following the announcement by government that it would sell a stake at a 9.1% discount from its previous closing price. Bharathrajeswaran, Bengaluru. Edited by Sonia Cheema & Ronojoy Mazumdar.
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After the US-Iran agreement, spot oil premiums have fallen to levels seen before the war. However, shipping anxiety provides a floor.
After the U.S. and Iran deal to end the Middle East conflict, spot premiums for crude oil in Asia are back to their pre-war level. However, caution over how soon normal shipping will resume is keeping the oil markets afloat. Prices fell across the board after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that a preliminary deal had been signed. Details have not yet been released, and the U.S. as well as Iran say that a permanent ceasefire is still being negotiated. Dubai's premium for swaps on Middle East crude returned to its pre-war level of $2.06 a barrel on Monday. This compares to an all-time peak of over $60 in March, after the war disrupted supply. NAPHTHA FLIPS CONTANGO This month, producers such as United Arab Emirates and Kuwait offered prompt cargoes that weighed on the crude and naphtha market. Asia's market for naphtha went into contango on monday, while the refining margins?for petrochemical feedstocks have fallen about 90% to $45 per metric ton compared to Brent crude. This is the lowest price since November 2023, and compares to a record high of $248 on March 31. In a contango, the prices for immediate delivery are lower than those of future deliveries, which indicates that there is ample supply near-term. Concerns about cargo availability in early July have also been eased by the resumption UAE supplies via ship to ship transfers. Energy Aspects, a consultancy, estimated that 7?million barrels naphtha on vessels stuck in the Strait would add to Asian volumes. DIESEL, JET FUEL MARGINS Last week, cash premiums for diesel and jet fuel in Asia fell to levels seen before the war on the expectation of abundant regional supplies in July & August. Regional trade sources report that Northeast Asian exporters have increased spot sales for July shipments of these fuels over the past two week, and shipbroking fixtures show May exports by South Korean refiners at levels close to pre-war. Diesel premiums were $2.65 per barrel and $1.40 for jet fuel on Monday. As a result, the price of residual fuels has also fallen. High-sulphur oil (HSFO), for example, is down more than very low-sulphur oil (VLSFO), as the market focuses on the resumption in HSFO shipments by top HSFO providers like Iraq. After reaching a high of $90 per ton in March, the spread between July and August for 380cst HSFO has narrowed down to $3 to $4 per ton. In a market that is backwardated, immediate prices are higher than the future months. GASOLINE, ?DIESEL, JET MARGINS REMAIN STRONG Although the refining margins of transportation fuels are also lower, they remain higher than their pre-war levels because of?tight inventories and concern about how quickly Middle Eastern supplies will be able to resume through Strait of Hormuz. "As long as the war-risk premiums remain high, crude and refined products will be temporarily supported, until there is a sign of a safe passage across the strait," said Xavier Tang senior market analyst at Vortexa. Asian gasoline margins are down about 35%, to around $24 per barrel over Brent crude. This is from a high of $43 a barrel in March. However, this is still three-times higher than the pre-war level. The diesel and jet margins have nearly doubled to $40 per barrel. Neil Crosby is a senior oil analyst with Sparta Commodities. He said that the price risk was now heavily skewed in favor of the upside. Data showed that oil product stocks in Asia’s main trading hub Singapore dropped to their lowest level in almost 13 years last week as Middle Eastern shipments were curtailed because of the conflict.
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Stocks soar as SpaceX fever boosts technology; the yen remains flat following BOJ rate hikes
The global?stocks rose on Tuesday, following a rally on Monday on the news of a U.S. - Iran peace deal. Meanwhile, the dollar remained steady against the yen after the Bank of Japan increased rates to a '31-year-high. The markets have taken a more measured approach to Gulf developments, as the initial excitement surrounding the preliminary agreement reached between Washington and Tehran has begun to fade. Investors were encouraged by the blockbuster IPO of SpaceX, which took place late last week. Its shares rose nearly 20% on the following Monday and pushed the market value of the space exploration firm past $2 trillion. In premarket trading, they were up 10.7% on Tuesday. Nasdaq Futures rose by 0.1% while S&P500 e-mini Futures were flat. After the Japanese central banks voted 7-1 in favor of raising its benchmark policy rates to 1% levels last seen in 1995, the Nikkei 225 reached the 70,000 level for the first time. The yen remained flat at 160.31 against the dollar. The STOXX 600 index in Europe rose 0.6% and hovered near the record high of Monday. This was led by gains made by Schneider Electric, a company that caters to data centers, and ASML. Nvidia, world's largest maker of AI chips, shocked investors by tapping bond markets for 25 billion dollars. The company said that the money would be used to fund general corporate needs and the debt sale would serve as a benchmark for future issuance. Nvidia's shares fell a little in premarket trade. Mitch Reznick is the group head of Fixed Income at Federated Hermes. He said: "We're one-step closer to codifying the optimism of this market." He added that the key question is how much systemic inflation we have, its impact on consumers, and whether it has spread throughout the economy. The price of oil fell another 2.2%, to a low of just over $81 per barrel. Shippers in Asia and Europe have said that it could take several weeks for them to rebuild their confidence in returning transit through the Strait of Hormuz. According to ING's Warren Patterson, oil consumers are likely to scramble to replenish their inventories that have been depleted during the war. This means prices will not be able to drop much in the short term. The announcement by U.S. president Donald Trump of a nuclear deal with Iran on Monday brought relief to investors, but also put Washington on a collision course with Israel. Westpac analysts said in a research note that while the deal was an important diplomatic breakthrough, it would be tested over time. Many sticking points were left for future negotiations, such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear program. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. dollar against six other currencies, was stable at around 99.6. The euro increased by 0.1%, to $1.1605, and the pound traded at $1.342, two days before a Bank of England meeting, where it is unlikely that monetary policy will be changed. The Australian dollar is little changed after Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates at the same level as expected. Its currency was 0.4% weaker, trading at $0.707. (Additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter in Singapore; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong) The yield on U.S. Treasury notes 10-years fell 2 basis points, to 4.45%. Gold, which is sensitive to U.S. expectations of interest rates, increased 0.9%, to $4,344 per ounce. (Gregor Stuart Hunter contributed additional reporting from Singapore; Shri Navaratnam, Jacqueline Wong and Jacqueline Navaratnam edited the article.)
MORNING BID AMERICAS - Central banks take center stage
Anna Szymanski is the Editor-in Charge of Open Interest.
As markets awaited further details about the terms of the preliminary U.S. Iran deal, and looked for indications that it could?lead a meaningful increase of tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the global stock rally appeared to?moderate? on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia and Bank of Japan both kicked off the busy week for monetary policymakers on Tuesday. The BOJ announced a?quarter-point?rate?hike of 1%. This is a new high for 31 years.
Below, I'll go into more detail. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast. Subscribe to the Morning Bid daily podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
CENTRAL BANKS ARE THE STARS Despite Donald Trump's comment on Monday, that oil tankers are leaving the Strait of Hormuz - there were no significant crossings of tankers visible on vessel-tracking data for Monday - though ships continue to move up and down the coast of Oman under the U.S. Navy's watch. Brent crude fell further on Tuesday after a 5% drop on Monday. However, it remained above $80 a barrel. Global shares continued to rise as Asian indexes grew and European shares opened higher. Wall Street futures are largely flat before the bell. Trump said on Monday that it is still early and the deal will be revealed after the formal signing of the agreement on Friday. In Lebanon, the fighting between Israel's Hezbollah and its allies eased up on Monday. The BOJ's anticipated rate hike of?to 1% represents another step towards normalizing the country's monetary policies. It is a move to reduce price pressures caused by the Iran War-driven energy shock. Shinichi Uchida, BOJ Deputy governor, welcomed the U.S.Iran memorandum on Tuesday but expressed uncertainty about the "pace" of improvement regarding oil flows.
The move was well-telegraphed, but it had little effect on the yen. It remained at around 160 yen to the dollar. If the yen continues to weaken, it could trigger another round of government intervention in order to support the currency. The Reserve Bank of Australia held rates at 4.35% despite the slowing of the economy. However, it warned that inflation was still too high and it could raise rates.
Investors will closely monitor the language used by the Federal Reserve and Bank of England when they meet respectively on Wednesday and Thursday. They are assessing how the prospects of a settlement in the Iran War could affect their rate paths. Elon Musk’s SpaceX continues to soar after its massive IPO on Friday. It rose more than 19% Monday. The company's premarket trades have put it on course to surpass Amazon ($2.7 trillion) and become the fifth largest?company in the world.
SpaceX shares have traded for more than $1.16 Billion as of this morning's early hours. This is more than the combined trading volume of Nvidia and Apple, as well as Microsoft, Tesla, and Microsoft over this period. Nvidia announced on Monday a $25 billion U.S. Bond issuance. This is the first time since 2021 that it has tapped into debt markets. The chipmaker is the latest tech giant to raise money amid the AI boom, but the main reason for the raising of cash does not seem to be capex funding needs. Instead, it appears to be a desire to set a benchmark for the cost of credit. The G7 summit is taking place in Evian-les-Bains, a French resort on the lake. They are discussing war, global imbalances, and the rapid growth of AI.
Chart of the Day Approximately 24% of Americans approve of Trump's management of the cost of living. This is up from 20% one month ago and 22% just a week before. In the latest /Ipsos survey, 69% of Americans disapprove compared to 73% in a previous poll.
The poll was conducted before and after Trump's announcement on Sunday, that he had reached an agreement with Iranian leaders to end the "war" that had driven gasoline prices dramatically higher.
Watch today's events
* U.S. housing starts for May (8:30 am EDT), and May import prices (8.30 am EDT).
* ?U.S. Auction of 20-year bonds (1 p.m. ET)
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(source: Reuters)