7.6.26
GEOPOLITICS, ENERGY & TRADE
- OPEC & Strait of Hormuz: Seven OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to roll back curbs and add 188,000 bpd in August. Major Persian Gulf producers are rapidly ramping output, with tanker traffic out of Hormuz entering a "new normal" of 30 to 60 vessels a day—enough to ease global supply pressures and push WTI lower.
- SPR Replenishment: Rebuilding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to pre-war levels will take 15 to 18 months even at an optimistic buying rate of 200,000 barrels a day.
- USMCA Sunset: The Trump administration is expected to formally declare on Wednesday that it will not extend the USMCA, triggering a sunset clause that starts a decade-long clock to wind down the North American free trade zone.
- Agricultural Heat Wave: US soybean and corn futures surged over 3% as a scorching "heat dome" hit major growing regions right as corn enters its vulnerable pollination stage. Heat waves have also reportedly damaged a third of the French corn crop.
- NATO Summit: President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at Wednesday's NATO summit in Turkey, an event charged with tensions over European defense spending and the Iran war.
MACROECONOMICS, RATES & FX
- FOMC Minutes & Services Data: Wednesday's release of the June FOMC minutes (Chair Kevin Warsh's debut) will be scrutinized for hawkish rate trajectories, as futures imply a 64% chance of a September rate hike. Today, markets focus on the ISM Services index following a dominant services job print from ADP.
- Intervention Watch (Yen): The options market is sending a bearish signal on the yen, with one-year sentiment favoring the dollar for the first time in three years. Goldman Sachs revised its USD/JPY forecast up to 165, noting Japanese authorities are staying on the sidelines.
- South Korean Pension Flows: National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo dismissed fears of a 74 trillion won domestic equity "selling bomb," stating the chance of a massive market-disrupting selloff is "zero" even as the fund's rebalancing waiver expires.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SEMIS & TECH
- Samsung Q2 & Memory Hikes: Samsung reports its Q2 update tonight, with analysts expecting an 18-fold profit surge (barring outsized strike-averting employee bonus provisions). The company is aggressively pushing to hike Q3 DRAM and LPDDR average selling prices by 20%.
- SK Hynix Mega-Listing: SK Hynix launched its $28.1 billion U.S. share sale roadshow. Final pricing is set for Thursday, with the ADRs debuting Friday in what will be the second-largest share sale in history behind SpaceX. It is expected to join the SOX index, paving the way for massive passive inflows.
- SpaceX NDX Inclusion: SpaceX (SPCX) will be added to the Nasdaq 100 after today's close, which JPMorgan estimates will draw $4.3 billion in passive inflows. The underwriter quiet period also expires tomorrow, unleashing fresh analyst coverage.
- Nvidia (NVDA) Delay: Asian tech stocks slumped after research firm SemiAnalysis reported that Nvidia's next-generation Kyber NVL144 AI server rack system is delayed by more than a year due to printed circuit board manufacturing setbacks.
- Sun Valley Summit: The 2026 Allen & Co. conference begins Tuesday in Idaho, with top AI executives including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei on the guest list.
- Hedge Fund Selling & Rotation: Short selling drove a third straight week of net equity sales by global hedge funds. Morgan Stanley warns momentum is fading in semiconductor stocks as investors rotate toward laggards and hyperscalers.
DOMESTIC POLITICS & POLICY
- Progressive Primary Upsets: Democratic socialists scored major upsets in Colorado, including Melat Kiros unseating 29-year incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette. Combined with recent wins in NY and Maine, progressive candidates are successfully disrupting the establishment status quo.
- Student Loan Sticker Shock: New Department of Education repayment plans went into effect on July 1, featuring stricter borrowing caps for graduate students and parents. Millions of borrowers face massive sticker shock as they transition into new plans this summer.
CALENDAR
- Mon: US ISM Services, S&P Global US Services PMI. BoC Business Outlook. Fed's Waller speaks in Rome. SpaceX added to Nasdaq 100 (after close).
- Tue: 2026 Sun Valley Conference kicks off. Japan 30Y Bond Auction, Labor Cash Earnings. US Trade Balance, JOLTS Job Openings. API Oil Data.
- Wed: USMCA non-extension formal declaration. FOMC Meeting Minutes (2:00 p.m. ET). US MBA Mortgages, Wholesale Inventories. DOE Oil Inventories. 10-Year Note Auction. Trump meets Zelenskyy at NATO summit (Turkey).
- Thu: China CPI/PPI. US Weekly Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales. Fed's Williams, Fed's Logan speak. SK Hynix final IPO pricing.
- Fri: SK Hynix begins US trading. Japan PPI. German CPI. Canadian Employment. CFTC COT, Fed H8 Report.