Top Stories This Morning: The U.S. Strikes Iran; Korean Stocks Fall 20% From Their Peak
The U.S. has resumed strikes against Iran following an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz / Photo: Ripa8258 / Shutterstock.com
The U.S. struck more than 80 targets in Iran in response to attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which jeopardized the ceasefire and pushed oil prices higher. Wall Street banks began covering SpaceX, mostly assigning “buy” ratings to the stock and setting price targets ranging from $200 to $300 per share. Read about these and other topics in our review of key events as of the morning of July 8.
The U.S. launched strikes against Iran following attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. struck more than 80 targets in Iran, including air defense systems, command posts, anti-ship missiles, and more than 60 boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. Central Command stated that the operation was in response to Iran’s attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington called a violation of the ceasefire.
The escalation threatens to undermine previous agreements between the U.S. and Iran to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, CNBC notes.
Oil Prices Rise Following New U.S. Strikes on Iran
Oil prices rose after the U.S. launched new strikes against Iran in response to attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNBC. Brent crude rose 2.8% to $76.18 per barrel, while WTI rose 2.9% to $72.46 per barrel.
Prices received additional support from the U.S. decision to revoke the license that had allowed Iran to export oil.
Investment banks valued SpaceX shares at $200–300 after initiating coverage
Wall Street’s largest banks have initiated coverage of SpaceX, assigning “buy” ratings to the stock or expecting it to outperform the market, according to Yahoo Finance. JPMorgan set a price target of $225 per share, Morgan Stanley set a target of $300, Goldman Sachs set a target of $205, Deutsche Bank set a target of $255, Bank of America set a target of $235, and UBS set a target of $210 per share.
Despite the stock price falling below its IPO level—to approximately $149 per share—analysts expect further growth thanks to SpaceX’s leadership in reusable space launches, satellite communications, and AI computing infrastructure.
The Kospi fell nearly 20% from its peak amid a sell-off in chipmaker stocks
South Korea’s Kospi index fell more than 6% during Wednesday’s trading, bringing its decline from its June all-time high to nearly 20%—a level that meets the threshold for a “bear market,” according to Bloomberg. SK Hynix shares fell 5%, and Samsung Electronics shares fell 6.9%, despite the company’s quarterly profit surging nearly 19-fold.
Investors are revising their expectations regarding the sustainability of demand for AI infrastructure and the large-scale spending on chips by major tech companies, the agency explains. Although the Kospi has remained the world’s best-performing stock index since the start of the year, with a gain of about 73%, the market’s heavy reliance on its two largest memory manufacturers is increasing its volatility.
What's Happening in the Markets
— Japan's broad-based Topix index fell 0.7%, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9%.
— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.8%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index rose 0.3%.
— In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 6.1%, and the KOSDAQ index fell 5.4%.
— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5%.
— Nasdaq Composite futures rose 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures remained virtually unchanged.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
