🌏 Asia: Nikkei hit a fresh record for a fifth straight session (+0.8%, +8.5% this week); Kospi jumped 3.1% to a new high (+15.3% this week) as Strait of Hormuz shipping returns to normal. Japan’s May core CPI held at 1.4% YoY — still below the BOJ’s 2% target despite this week’s hike to 1%. Hong Kong and mainland China are closed today for the Dragon Boat Festival.
💵 FX: The Dollar Index holds near 100.8 after touching a 1-year high Thursday on hawkish Fed bets under new Chair Kevin Warsh. EUR/USD ~1.1457, GBP/USD ~1.3202, USD/JPY ~161.1 — the yen near a 2-year low, keeping BoJ intervention risk in focus.
🛢️ Commodities: Oil extends its weekly slide — WTI ~$76, Brent ~$79.50 — as tankers resume normal Strait of Hormuz transit. Gold slipped 1% to below $4,180/oz; silver fell 2%, near $65.
📈 Stocks: US markets are closed today for Juneteenth. Wall Street closed Thursday at session highs — S&P 500 +1.08% (7,500.58), Nasdaq +1.91% (26,517.93) — led by Intel’s 10.6% jump on an Apple chip-partnership report.
⚡ Watch today: thin holiday liquidity, yen intervention risk, and follow-through from the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
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🌅 NordFX Morning Update — June 19, 2026 was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.