ADDX GO Market Morning Wrap - 18th June
Stock Market
Overnight and this morning, overseas markets have been busy reassessing the prospects of the Middle East conflict, with the three major U.S. stock indexes collectively under pressure and declining.
As of Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.84% to 5,982.72 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.91% to 19,521.09 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 42,215.8 points. As a barometer of the Middle East conflict, international oil prices rose again.
Large tech stocks generally fell: Tesla dropped nearly 4%, Apple fell more than 1%, while Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Meta fell slightly; Intel rose slightly.
Aviation concept stocks were among the top decliners: JetBlue fell nearly 8%, United Airlines fell more than 6%, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines fell more than 4%, American Airlines fell more than 3%, and Southwest Airlines fell more than 2%.
As the military conflict between Israel and Iran continues, market attention has turned to whether the U.S. military will intervene.
According to reports, U.S. President Trump met with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday local time to weigh whether to further intervene in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
U.S. Treasury prices also rose simultaneously, which was also related to weak U.S. retail, housing, and industrial output data.
Later on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rate decision and hold a press conference. The market generally expects that before a series of uncertainties that could trigger inflation are resolved, Fed officials have no room to cut rates.
Global Hotspots
- U.S. Officials: U.S. Military Deploying F-35 and Other Fighters to Middle East. On the 17th local time, multiple U.S. officials said that the U.S. military is deploying more fighter jets to the Middle East while extending the deployment time of other fighter jets in the region.
- U.S. Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill. The U.S. Senate voted 68-30 in favor of the stablecoin bill on Tuesday local time, establishing regulatory rules for U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. This is a landmark victory for the rising crypto industry and U.S. President Donald Trump. The bill will be submitted to the House of Representatives for consideration.
- Oil Prices Soar! EU: Plans to Completely Stop Importing Russian Oil! Oil prices suddenly soared in the evening. The European Commission proposed a legislative proposal on the 17th: The EU will gradually stop importing Russian natural gas and oil by the end of 2027. The proposal states that it will phase out the direct and indirect import of pipeline natural gas (PNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia by the end of 2027, while completely stopping the import of Russian oil.
Company News
- After Stablecoins, "Stable Stocks"? Coinbase to Seek SEC Approval for Tokenized Stocks. On Tuesday local time, Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of cryptocurrency exchange and newly minted S&P 500 component Coinbase, revealed that the company is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a "tokenized equities" service. $COIN
- Chevron, Officially Enters Lithium Industry to Capture the Future Energy Battlefield. On Tuesday (June 17) local time, Chevron released a press release titled "Chevron Enters U.S. Lithium Industry to Support U.S. Energy Security." The press release stated that Chevron's U.S. subsidiary announced the acquisition of two oil field lease areas today. $CVX
- After Musk Fell Out with Trump, xAI is Said to Have Raised $9.3 Billion Despite This. According to multiple media reports, Elon Musk's AI company xAI is close to finalizing a total equity and debt financing deal worth up to $9.3 billion. Media analysis believes that although his recent public feud with U.S. President Donald Trump on social media once added variables to the financing process, this result may mean that investors were not deterred.
Forex & Commodities
International oil prices rose significantly on the 17th.
As of the day's close, the price of light crude oil futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $3.07 to close at $74.84 per barrel, an increase of 4.28%; the price of London Brent crude oil futures for August delivery rose by $3.22 to close at $76.45 per barrel, an increase of 4.40%.
Spot gold rose 0.12% to $3,389.12 per ounce, and COMEX gold futures fell 0.37% to $3,404.80 per ounce.
The U.S. dollar index rose on the 17th. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.84% on the day and closed at 98.821 in late trading.
Key Events
- Global Central Banks Rush to Buy Gold! How High Can Gold Prices Rise in the Future? On June 17, the World Gold Council released the "2025 Global Central Bank Gold Reserve Survey" (CBGR). The data shows that 95% of surveyed central banks believe that global central banks will continue to increase their gold holdings in the next 12 months. This proportion has set a new high since the first survey on this issue in 2019, and has also increased by 17 percentage points compared with the 2024 survey results.
Cryptocurrency
Major digital assets fell on Tuesday, with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) heading toward the $105,000 level.
Bitcoin fell 3.2% to $105,102, and the cryptocurrency's 24-hour trading volume rose 14.3% to $56.29 billion.
Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second-largest digital asset by market value, fell 4.3% to $2,540.
XRP (XRP-USD) lost 5.6%, BNB (BNB-USD) fell 1.4%, and Solana (SOL-USD) declined 4.7%. Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) slumped 4.9%, and Cardano (ADA-USD) dropped 5.1%.
The total market value of the cryptocurrency industry decreased by 3.5% in the past 24 hours to $3.27 trillion, with trading volume rising 19.4% to $138.76 billion.
Key Events
- JPMorgan Chase (JPM.US) Launches Stablecoin-Like Token JPMD to Further Expand in the Cryptocurrency Field. JPMorgan Chase is further stepping into the cryptocurrency sector by launching a stablecoin-like token named JPMD. The U.S. banking giant revealed on Tuesday that it plans to launch the so-called "deposit token" on Coinbase's public blockchain Base (built on the Ethereum network).
Market Events and Most Anticipated Earnings Releases
