Top Stories This Morning: The U.S. and Iran Have Put Their Attacks on Hold; Baidu Is Preparing an IPO for Its AI Division
Iran and the U.S. have agreed to resume talks to resolve the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz / Photo: X / The White House
Following a new series of mutual strikes, the U.S. and Iran agreed to temporarily cease hostilities and ensure free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell following reports of investment plans totaling up to $1.3 trillion. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of June 29.
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a new ceasefire
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to temporarily halt hostilities and ensure the free passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, despite new reciprocal strikes over the weekend, according to CNBC. The parties will resume negotiations on a memorandum of understanding, but continue to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
On Saturday night, the U.S. struck ten Iranian military targets in response to attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran announced strikes on U.S. targets in Kuwait and Bahrain. Amid this new escalation, oil prices rose, but reports of a return to the negotiating table caused them to cool off. Brent futures fell back below $73 per barrel, while WTI futures fell below $70.
Gold prices fell as concerns over the U.S. and Iran eased
Gold prices fell following the decision to de-escalate tensions. The spot price of gold dropped 0.9% to $4,000 per ounce, despite a brief rise at the end of last week.
Silver prices fell by 1.1%, and platinum and palladium prices also declined.
Shares of Samsung and SK Hynix fell amid plans to invest up to $1.3 trillion
Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 4.7% and 3.1%, respectively, following reports that the companies are preparing to unveil 10-year investment plans totaling up to 2,000 trillion won ($1.3 trillion), CNBC reports. The plans are expected to be presented at a government briefing chaired by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
According to South Korean media reports, the investments will be directed toward the construction of semiconductor plants, the development of AI data centers, advanced chip packaging, and the production of batteries and displays.
Baidu Is Preparing an IPO for Its AI Division — The Information
Baidu’s shares in Hong Kong jumped more than 7% following reports that its AI chip developer, Kunlunxin, is preparing for an IPO in Hong Kong with a potential valuation of about $50 billion, according to CNBC. According to The Information, the company privately filed for a listing earlier this year, and the terms of the offering have not yet been finalized.
Kunlunxin, founded in 2011, supplies chips to its parent company and has been actively expanding sales to third-party customers, including ByteDance, in recent years.
What's Happening in the Markets
— Japan's broad-based Topix index fell 0.5%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%.
— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by nearly 2%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index fell by 0.4%.
— In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 2.2%, while the KOSDAQ jumped 7.1%.
— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%.
— Futures on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
