South Korean stocks draw Japan’s attention as Kospi hits record high

South Korean stocks stole the Asia session on Tuesday, as trading reopened after a public holiday with the Kospi Index (.KS11) shooting to yet another record high of 8,131.15.

The index closed up 2.55% at 8,047.51, adding 199.80 points, while the Kosdaq also finished in the green, but it gave back part of its early jump and ended 0.98% higher.

Donald Trump had said on Monday night that talks with Iran were “proceeding nicely.” Donald also said the U.S. could start attacks again if the talks failed.

Brent crude futures for July rose 2.09% to $98.15 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures for July fell 5.13% to $91.64 per barrel at press time, compared with Friday’s close.

Korean stocks lead Asia while Japanese traders take profit after Nikkei crosses 65,000

Korea’s rally came on the heels of Japan’s monster rally on Monday, where the Nikkei 225 Index (.N225) exceeded the milestone level of 65,000 on light volume due to the holidays. On Tuesday, Japanese stocks took a breather; the Nikkei closed 0.25% lower at 64,996.09, having dropped 162.10 points amid profit-taking. The Topix index also fell slightly to close at 3,938.46.

Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan Ryozo Himino stated that the timing of the next interest rate hike remains unclear, amid developments in the Middle East.

The rest of Asia was mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (.AXJO) fell 0.39% to 8,657.80, losing 34.20 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) turned higher after early weakness and closed up 0.33% at 25,691.55, gaining 85.52 points, after its own Monday public holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite (.SSEC) slipped 0.18% to 4,145.212, down 7.356 points, while the CSI 300 gained 0.22%. India’s Nifty 50 (.NSEI) ended almost flat, down 0.04% at 24,022.85, losing 8.85 points, while the BSE Sensex stayed flat.

U.S. futures were higher before Wall Street reopened. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 319 points, or 0.63%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.65%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.87%. U.S. stock markets were shut on Monday for Memorial Day.

Traders price in Fed risk as currencies and metals react to oil pressure

Cryptopolitan had previously reported that U.S. crude fell 8.4% last week, which its worst weekly drop since April 17, but it is still far above levels seen earlier in the year.

That kept inflation fears alive, with the CME Group (CME) FedWatch tool showed traders pricing in an 8.5% chance of a July rate hike from the Fed, when just a month ago, the chance was only at 0.9%.

In currencies, Europe’s EUR/USD trades at 1.1636, up 0.07%, Japan and America’s USD/JPY is at 159.0800, up by 0.11%, UK’s GBP/USD was at 1.3480, up 0.18%, while Australia’s AUD/USD stood at 0.7167, up 0.08%.

According to data from Yahoo Finance, the dollar is trading at 1.3809 against the Canadian dollar, up 0.04%, and 0.7841 against the Swiss franc, up 0.18%. EUR/JPY is currently 185.1100, up 0.05%, the EUR/GBP pair shows 0.8632, up 0.11%, and the USD/HKD is at 7.8357, up 0.02%. EUR/CHF traded at 0.9124, up 0.16%, and the USD/KRW was at 1,502.7600, up 8.89, or 0.59%.

Metals traded with less comfort. Spot gold fell 0.9% to $4,529.50 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery rose 0.2% to $4,529.60. Spot silver dropped 2.1% to $76.45 per ounce. Platinum lost 1% to $1,948.12, and palladium fell 1.4% to $1,378.89.

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