Top stories for the morning: Chime IPO, Nvidia invests in startup, Trump's trade threats

Fintech company Chime has had one of the biggest IPOs in the industry in the last year. Samsung and Nvidia invested in robot software developer Skild AI as part of a surge of interest in physical AI and consumer robotics. Oil market participants are assessing an unexpected spike in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. These and other topics are covered in our review of key events for the morning of June 12.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will send letters to trading partners with unilaterally set duty rates on imports within the next week and a half to two weeks, writes Bloomberg. «At some point, we're just going to send out letters. And I think you can see what their point will be: these are the terms - take it or leave it,» he said at an event at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Following the imposition of increased new duties that shook markets, Trump paused the harshest rates - a pause that expires on July 9. However, his latest comments only add to the uncertainty ahead of that date.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday, June 11, that the suspension of restrictions will likely be extended. «There are 18 important trading partners - we're working on agreements with them - and it's very likely that for those countries that are negotiating in good faith, we will move the deadline,» Bessent said at a House Tax and Budget Committee hearing.

On Tuesday, the U.S. and China agreed on a framework agreement to ease trade tensions. Under it, the temporary duty rates now in place will become permanent: total U.S. duties on imports of goods from China will be 55%, and China's duties on U.S. products will be 10%.

Samsung Electronics and Nvidia will acquire minority stakes in AI startup Skild AI in a bid to strengthen their position in the emerging consumer robotics industry, reports Bloomberg. According to the agency's sources, the South Korean tech giant will invest $10 million in Skild, while the U.S. chipmaker will invest $25 million as part of a Series B funding round that values Skild at about $4.5 billion, led by Japan's SoftBank Group with $100 million.

For Samsung, the investment is a way to maintain access to Skild's team and technology without having to get seriously involved, and to keep up with other Korean conglomerates such as LG, Hanwha and Mirae Asset, which have also invested $5-10 million each in Skild. Some Samsung officials believe the startup's solutions are inferior to competitors, but are still investing for the sake of prospects, Bloomberg writes.

Nvidia is actively promoting the concept of «physical AI» - robots and autonomous vehicles as a future source of significant revenue. The company already offers chips, software and services to accelerate the emergence of robots capable of autonomous thinking.

Fintech company Chime announced that it raised $864 million in its initial public offering, setting its listing price at $27 per share, reports Reuters. The initial stated price range was $24 to $26. Thus, Chime was valued at about $11.6 billion on a fully diluted capitalization basis.

The IPO was one of the largest fintech IPOs in the U.S. in recent years, especially amid the post-pandemic revaluation of many companies as investment in fintech and e-commerce surged, the agency points out.

Chime was founded in 2012 by former Visa top executive Chris Britt and ex-Comcast employee Ryan King. The company offers banking products through partnerships with traditional banks. Its flagship solutions include branded current accounts with convenient features including fee-free overdrafts.

Chime last raised funding in 2021 at a valuation of $25 billion. Its investors include Yuri Milner's DST Global, General Atlantic and ICONIQ.

Trading in Chime shares will begin Thursday on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker CHYM.

Oil prices declined, rebounding from earlier gains -market participants are assessing the U.S. decision to redeploy personnel from the Middle East amid upcoming talks with Iran over its nuclear program, reports Reuters.

Brent crude futures were down 0.4% to $69.47 per barrel by 04:33 GMT, while US WTI was down 0.3% to $67.92 per barrel. A day earlier, prices for both grades jumped more than 4% to their highest since early April. Traders reacted to a report that the U.S. plans to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq because of increased security threats related to the potential failure of talks on a nuclear deal with Iran. Talks between the sides are scheduled for Sunday.

Donald Trump said in an interview published Wednesday, he has become less confident that Iran will agree to halt uranium enrichment as part of an agreement with Washington. Earlier, Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned that Tehran would strike U.S. bases in the region if nuclear deal talks fail and the conflict with the United States escalates. Trump has emphasized that the U.S. will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are peaceful.

Heightened tensions are adding to fears of disruptions to oil supplies.  «Some of the rise in oil prices has been excessive. The US has not stated a specific threat of an attack from Iran,» said Vivek Dhar, director of commodity research at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Tehran's response will only depend on an escalation from the US, he added. «A price correction is warranted, but the geopolitical premium is likely to keep Brent above $65 until the outcome of the nuclear talks is clarified,» the analyst predicted.

Asia-Pacific markets demonstrated mixed dynamics.

- Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.58%, while the broader Topix was down 0.24%. 

- South Korea's Kospi added 0.83%, while the low-capitalization Kosdaq rose 0.79%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was unchanged.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.51%, while mainland China's CSI 300 was unchanged.

- India's Nifty 50 added 0.11% in opening trade.

- Futures on key U.S. indices were down about 0.2 percent.