Asia Market Quick Take – 28 May, 2026

Key points:

• Macro: Iran downplays war risk; Trump rejects draft deal, says talks unsatisfactory
• Equities: Snowflake jumps 36% on strong earnings; Marvell climbs 8.9% on AI-driven guidance
• FX: USD edges up on Iran uncertainty; NZD jumps as RBNZ signals tightening
• Commodities: Oil stabilizes near one‑month lows; gold retreats on inflation and Middle East worries
• Fixed income: Treasuries jump on US–Iran peace hopes; 30-year yield posts steep five-day slide

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.

Macro:

• Iran said a return to war was unlikely, while Trump told a televised White House cabinet meeting he was "not satisfied" with negotiations, pushing back against Iranian reports about a draft memorandum of understanding.
• Trump says no nation would control the Straits of Hormuz and have carried out defensive airstrikes on Iranian military site yesterday, as it threatened American forces and commercial traffic using drones.
• Fed Governor Lisa Cook stated she is "prepared to raise rates" if inflation persists, noting that after five years of above-target inflation, she is particularly attuned to the risk that elevated inflation will become embedded in price and wage-setting behavior.
• The UK faces a "lost generation" from youth unemployment, with a government-commissioned review warning that without action, the number of young people not in education, employment or training is due to hit 1.25 million within five years, up from about 1 million currently.
• The US granted Volvo Car an exemption from a China-linked connected-vehicle ban, while European car sales rose for a third month on robust EV and hybrid demand. European firms in China are turning more upbeat even as Airbus deliveries face delays.

Equities: 

• US -US stocks inched to more records on Wednesday as oil prices fell back to mid-April levels. S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1% to 7,520.36, holding onto a record though staying relatively flat as traders parsed through conflicting signals on how peace talks between the US and Iran were progressing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 50,644.28, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% to 26,674.74. In after-hours trading, Snowflake soared 36% after reporting first-quarter results that beat expectations and raising its full-year forecast, also expanding its collaboration with Amazon Web Services. Dell shares jumped 4.8% postmarket after winning a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract. Marvell Technology initially fell 4% during its conference call but later extended gains up to 8.9% after boosting its annual forecast citing AI-fuelled demand. Salesforce dipped 1.1% in extended trading after its results and outlook weren't seen strong enough to erase concerns over AI-related disruption.
• EU - European stock markets closed higher on Wednesday with the Swiss Market Index gaining 0.8%, France's CAC 40 climbing 0.4% to 8,207.89, the FTSE 100 advancing 0.2%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 and Germany's DAX 40 each little changed at 628.18 and up 0.09% respectively. The governments of the EU cleared legislation to remove import duties on several US goods, Reuters reported. Luxury and consumer discretionary sectors that were among the hardest hit when the Middle East conflict started led the gains, while autos got an extra boost as European car sales rose for a third straight month in April. Akzo Nobel rallied 19.5% after rejecting a bid. BP fell 2.72% a day after announcing the removal of Chairman Albert Manifold, citing concerns related to "important governance standards, oversight and conduct."
• Asia - Asian stocks jumped as investors boosted demand for the region's chipmakers during the artificial intelligence boom, while sentiment remained broadly positive on prospects for a US-Iran peace deal. South Korea's Kospi surged 2.3% to a new record above 8,200 points, closing at 8,228.7, led by strong gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which added nearly 3% and over 9% respectively. SK Hynix's rise lifted the South Korean company's market cap over $1 trillion for the first time. Taiwan's market also advanced as Taiwan Semiconductor climbed in trading. Hong Kong stocks fell with the Hang Seng Index dropping 1.1% to 25,328.23 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index falling 1.3% to 8,463.02, as elevated oil prices and uncertainty over the durability of the US-Iran ceasefire weighed on sentiment. Alibaba dropped as much as 3.1%, the biggest drag on the gauge Wednesday, while Xiaomi slid 3% after its profit dropped more than expected due to the memory chip crunch. XPeng and Li Auto were down around 3.5% each ahead of earnings reports due Thursday.

Earnings this week:

• Thursday: Li Auto, Xpeng, Costco, Best Buy, Okta, Royal Bank of Canada, Dell

FX:

• USD firmed slightly Wednesday as traders weighed mixed signals on a potential US–Iran deal and future oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index about 0.1%. President Trump said no single nation would control the waterway, rejecting Iranian demands.
• NZD outperformed G10 peers after the RBNZ kept rates on hold but signalled likely hikes. NZDUSD rose 1.1% to 0.5901, while Bank of America now expects a July hike and multiple moves this year, in contrast to a still-paused RBA. That shift hit AUDNZD, which fell 1.5% to 1.2100, its worst day since 2016.
• USDJPY edged up 0.1% to 159.52 after BOJ Governor Ueda said oil shocks are a key test for Japan’s inflation regime and Mizuho’s CEO argued a larger BOJ hike could benefit the bond market.
• EURUSD dipped to 1.1626 as French consumer confidence underwhelmed, highlighting Iran war headwinds, while GBPUSD slipped 0.1% to 1.3427.

Commodities:

• Oil steadied after slumping more than 5% on Wednesday, with WTI trading near $89 a barrel and Brent near $94, closing at the lowest level in more than a month as the US and Iran remained at odds over how to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Gold fell for a second day to trade below $4,500 an ounce, declining to a two-month low as concerns that continued conflict in the Middle East will prolong inflation and keep borrowing costs elevated outweighed prospects of a US-Iran peace deal.
• Copper fell $92.50 to $13,531 per ton on the London Metal Exchange, while Comex copper settled 0.88% lower at $6.3050, marking the largest one-day dollar and percentage decline since Tuesday, May 19, 2026, as copper traders once again scoured the world for metal to send to the US amid renewed speculation about import tariffs.

Fixed income:

• The Treasury's $70 billion auction of five-year notes was awarded at 4.182% versus the 4.181% when-issued yield at the 1 p.m. New York time bidding deadline, a sign demand fell slightly short of expectations, with the highest auction yield since January 2025.
• Treasuries rallied sharply Tuesday in what looked like a catch-up move, buoyed by optimism for some kind of step forward in peace negotiations between the US and Iran, though Fed officials have increasingly acknowledged that elevated energy prices risk slowing the disinflation process.
• The 30-year Treasury yield declined 0.014 percentage point to 5.010%, falling for five consecutive trading days and marking the largest five-day yield decline since Thursday, September 11, 2025, while the 10-year yield fell 0.5 basis points to 4.481%.

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