Oil Tops $90 as US Strikes Iran for a Ninth Night, Chip-Stock Rout Deepens, Hang Seng Bucks the Selloff | Capital Street FX Asian Session Technical Analysis · 20 July 2026 (Live Update) Skip to main content Monday, 20 July 2026  ·  Asian Session Technical Analysis — Live Update ▸ BRENT TOPS $90 AS US STRIKES IRAN FOR A NINTH NIGHT · CHIP-STOCK ROUT DEEPENS · HANG SENG BUCKS THE SELLOFF · YEN NEAR 4-DECADE LOW · JAPAN CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY Oil Tops $90 as US Strikes Iran for a Ninth Night, Chip-Stock Rout Deepens, Hang Seng Bucks the Regional Selloff USD/JPY ~162.10 ▲ hovering near a four-decade high with Japan shut for a holiday · AUD/USD ~0.6945 ▼ retreating as safe-haven Dollar demand builds · Silver ~$56.80 ▲ extending a second straight day of gains · Natural Gas ~$2.89 ▼ pinned near a two-month low on oversupply · Hang Seng ~25,090 ▲ up over 2% as Chinese tech decouples from the selloff · XRP ~$1.09 ▲ defending key support as altseason chatter builds · Solana ~$77.00 ▲ stabilizing above its 20 and 50-day averages Monday’s Asian session opens with the Gulf conflict back at the center of the macro story: the US military has begun a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, targeting the country’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and Brent crude has climbed roughly 3% to cross $90 a barrel for the first time in over a month, while WTI trades above $85. US Central Command has confirmed a third American service member killed in the campaign, and unidentified remains have been found near the site of a prior Iranian attack in Jordan, underscoring how the conflict keeps escalating rather than cooling. The jump in fuel costs has revived inflation worries just as futures markets price in roughly 29 basis points of Federal Reserve rate hikes by year-end, even after last week’s softer-than-expected US CPI print. Asian equities are broadly hesitant on the combination of costlier oil and a fresh leg lower in chip stocks: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index shed 10% last week and sits roughly 20% below its June record after China’s Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3, a new open-weight AI model the company says approaches the performance of Western frontier systems, reviving doubts about the payoff on hyperscaler AI capital spending. South Korea’s Kospi has opened lower and Australia’s ASX 200 is only marginally firmer, but Hong Kong is the session’s clear outlier: the Hang Seng is up more than 2% as Chinese technology names including Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi rally on the same Moonshot news that is weighing on US chip stocks, a reminder that this week’s AI story is increasingly a story about who benefits, not just who loses. Japanese markets are shut for the Marine Day holiday, leaving USD/JPY trading in thin conditions just below the mid-162.00s and close to the four-decade high of 162.84 touched on 1 July, with Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama repeating intervention warnings that continue to cap the pair’s upside without yet triggering a reversal. The PBOC held its one-year and five-year Loan Prime Rates unchanged for a fourteenth straight month, a hold that reflects a still-resilient Chinese economy even as second-quarter GDP growth cooled to 4.3%, its weakest pace in three and a half years. Elsewhere, Silver is extending a second straight session of gains near $56.80 an ounce on a mix of safe-haven and industrial demand, Natural Gas is pinned near a two-month low around $2.89 per MMBtu on record US production and a cooler near-term temperature outlook, and crypto markets are stabilizing after last week’s correction, with XRP defending the $1.08-$1.09 area and Solana holding above its 20 and 50-day moving averages near $76.80. Session Overview Brent crude tops $90 as US strikes on Iran enter a ninth night, the chip-stock rout deepens on China’s Moonshot AI model, Hang Seng bucks the regional selloff, the Yen sits near a four-decade low with Japan on holiday, and Silver, XRP and Solana all hold firm. Monday’s Asian session is dominated first and foremost by the Gulf conflict, which shows no sign of a near-term resolution. The US military carried out a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, part of a campaign aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and Iranian-aligned forces struck back at targets across the region over the weekend. Brent crude has climbed roughly 3% to cross the $90 a barrel level for the first time in more than a month, while WTI trades above $85, and US Central Command has confirmed a third American service member killed in the fighting. The jump in energy prices is doing real work on the inflation narrative: futures markets are now pricing around 29 basis points of Federal Reserve rate hikes by year-end, a meaningful shift even after last week’s softer core CPI reading, and traders continue to treat the 28-29 July FOMC meeting as a genuine swing event. Layered on top of the geopolitical story is a second, distinct headwind for risk assets: the chip-stock rout that hammered Wall Street last week is deepening. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index shed roughly 10% over the past five sessions and remains about 20% below its June record high, and the latest catalyst is a new open-weight AI model, Kimi K3, released by Chinese startup Moonshot, which the company says delivers performance approaching that of leading Western systems. The read-through for US hyperscalers and chipmakers is that the enormous capital expenditure underpinning this year’s AI trade may face more competition than priced in, and that is weighing on Nasdaq 100 futures sentiment heading into a heavy week of earnings from Alphabet, Intel and Tesla. Notably, the same Moonshot news is having the opposite effect in Hong Kong, where Chinese technology stocks including Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi are rallying on the idea that a credible domestic AI champion strengthens the case for China’s tech sector rather than

Week Ahead: Big Tech Earnings Collide With a Hawkish Fed Repricing and an Unresolved Iran-Israel-US Conflict, 20–24 July 2026 | CSFX U.S. Session Weekly · 20–24 July 2026 CSFX · U.S. Session Weekly Overview Markets Trades Catalysts Calendar FAQ Open Account U.S. Market Weekly Technical Analysis Saturday 18 July 2026 · Week of 20–24 July 2026 · Full U.S. Trading Week Week Ahead: Big Tech Earnings Collide With a Hawkish Fed Repricing and an Unresolved Iran-Israel-US Conflict, 20–24 July 2026 USD/CAD 1.4035 · USD/CHF 0.8069 · Gold $4,031.05 · Brent Crude $85.95 · US 10Y 4.55% · Dow Jones 52,146.42 · BTC/USD $63,394 · BNB/USD $570.51 Tesla & Alphabet Headline Wednesday’s Earnings · Existing Home Sales Wed 22 Jul · Flash PMIs, New Home Sales & Jobless Claims Late Week · Full U.S. session trade ideas and economic calendar for week of 20–24 July 2026 USD/CAD· USD/CHF· Gold· Brent Crude· US 10Y· Dow Jones· BTC/USD· BNB/USD Last Week at a Glance · 13–17 July 2026 USD/CAD 1.4035 ▲ +0.4% wk The dollar firmed against the loonie as oil’s spike failed to offset a broadly hawkish repricing of Fed policy, pulling USD/CAD off its mid-week low near 1.4010. USD/CHF 0.8069 ▲ +0.5% wk The dollar edged higher against the franc even as Swiss-franc safe-haven demand ticked up on conflict headlines, with broad dollar strength the dominant driver. Gold $4,031.05 ▲ +2.1% wk Gold caught a safe-haven bid from the Iran-Israel-US conflict, but gains were capped by record-high real yields and two-thirds of the market now positioned for a Fed hike by year-end. Brent Crude $85.95 ▲ +14.3% wk Brent posted its strongest weekly gain in months after the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed, a US naval blockade choked Strait of Hormuz shipping, and Iran struck US bases across the region. US 10Y Treasury 4.55% ▲ +5bps wk Yields whipsawed between a soft June CPI/PPI print and the oil-driven inflation shock, ultimately settling near a two-month high as hawkish Fed repricing took hold. Dow Jones 52,146.42 ▼ -0.9% wk The Dow slipped modestly but sharply outperformed the Nasdaq’s 2.9% weekly loss, as capital rotated out of richly valued semiconductor names into the index’s more defensive, blue-chip composition. BTC/USD $63,394 ▼ -4.2% wk Bitcoin’s brief push above $65,000 faded as a sixth consecutive night of US strikes on Iran dulled risk appetite across crypto, pulling BTC back toward the low end of its recent range. BNB/USD $570.51 ▼ -3.1% wk BNB tracked the broader crypto pullback tied to conflict-driven risk-off flows, though it continued to outperform smaller-cap alternative coins on relative strength. The week of 13–17 July 2026 across U.S. markets was dominated by a collision between escalating Middle East conflict and a market recalibrating for a more hawkish Federal Reserve. Brent crude surged more than 14% for the week after the fragile US-Iran ceasefire collapsed, the US reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and Iran retaliated with strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, sending tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to two-month lows. That energy shock cut through equity markets unevenly: the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.9% on the week as a punishing semiconductor selloff — triggered in part by a new open-source AI model from China’s Moonshot AI narrowing the performance gap with leading U.S. labs — pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index into a bear market, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average held up far better, down just 0.9%, as the “Great Rotation” trade continued pulling capital from richly valued chip names into the index’s more defensive blue-chip composition. Treasury yields whipsawed on conflicting signals: June CPI and PPI both came in cooler than expected, pointing toward disinflation, yet oil-driven inflation risk and mounting concern over the U.S. fiscal position kept the 10-year yield pinned near a two-month high of 4.55%, with rate futures showing two-thirds of the market now positioned for a Federal Reserve hike — not a cut — by year-end. Gold caught a safe-haven bid from the conflict but could not break decisively higher against that backdrop of elevated real yields. Crypto markets softened as bitcoin’s brief run above $65,000 reversed on risk-off flows tied to the sixth consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes on Iran. The set-up into the new week is whether Wednesday’s marquee earnings from Tesla and Alphabet can stabilize sentiment in mega-cap tech, whether the Iran-Israel-US conflict escalates further or finds an off-ramp, and whether Friday’s flash PMIs confirm the U.S. economy is absorbing the oil shock without breaking stride. 📋 This Week at a Glance · 20–24 July 2026 Big Tech Earnings, Existing & New Home Sales, and Friday’s Flash PMIs Are the Key Events to Watch From 20 July to 24 July The week of 20–24 July 2026 moves the U.S. second-quarter earnings season into its highest-stakes stretch, with Tesla and Alphabet headlining an “After Close” session on Wednesday alongside IBM, AT&T, and ServiceNow, following General Motors, Coca-Cola, 3M, and Lockheed Martin on Tuesday and Domino’s Pizza and Verizon on Monday. Whether Dow Jones at 52,146.42 can extend its recent outperformance over the Nasdaq depends heavily on whether these results stabilize the sentiment shaken by last week’s semiconductor selloff. US 10-year Treasury yields at 4.55% and the dollar broadly — reflected in USD/CAD at 1.4035 and USD/CHF at 0.8069 — remain hostage to a market that has quietly repriced toward a Federal Reserve hike rather than a cut by year-end, a dynamic that will be tested by Wednesday’s existing home sales and Friday’s flash PMIs. Gold at $4,031.05/oz and Brent crude at $85.95 both stay tethered to the unresolved Iran-Israel-US conflict, which escalated sharply last week and shows no confirmed sign of de-escalation. BTC/USD at $63,394 and BNB/USD at $570.51 continue to trade largely off that same conflict-driven risk sentiment in the absence of a dedicated crypto catalyst this week. 📈 Tesla & Alphabet Earnings Wednesday 🛢️ Iran-Israel-US Conflict Risk 🏦 Hawkish Fed Repricing 📊 Flash PMIs Friday Why Traders Choose CSFX 0.0 Pips Spreads Trade 2000+ markets with tight,

Week Ahead: PM Burnham’s Cabinet Reveal Tests Sterling, the ECB Signals a Hold Before September, and the Iran-Israel-US Conflict Keeps Oil Elevated, 20–24 July 2026 | CSFX European Session Weekly · 20–24 July 2026 CSFX · European Weekly Overview Markets Trades Catalysts Calendar FAQ Open Account European Market Weekly Technical Analysis Saturday 18 July 2026 · Week of 20–24 July 2026 · Full European Trading Week Week Ahead: PM Burnham’s Cabinet Reveal Tests Sterling, the ECB Signals a Hold Before September, and the Iran-Israel-US Conflict Keeps Oil Elevated, 20–24 July 2026 EUR/USD 1.1408 · GBP/USD 1.3474 · Silver $55.97 · Brent Crude $85.95 · FTSE 100 10,590 · German 10Y 3.11% · Ethereum $1,833.34 · Dogecoin $0.0720 PM Burnham’s Cabinet & Chancellor Reveal Mon 20 Jul · ECB Rate Decision & Lagarde Press Conference Thu 23 Jul · Eurozone & UK Flash PMIs Fri 24 Jul · Full European session trade ideas and economic calendar for week of 20–24 July 2026 EUR/USD· GBP/USD· Silver· Crude Oil· FTSE 100· EU 10Y· Ethereum· Dogecoin Last Week at a Glance · 13–17 July 2026 EUR/USD 1.1408 ▬ -0.1% wk The euro drifted in a tight range, largely ignored as traders positioned around a widely expected ECB hold on 23 July rather than reacting to the euro side of the pair. GBP/USD 1.3474 ▲ +0.6% wk Sterling extended its climb to fresh one-year highs after Andy Burnham was confirmed as Labour leader on Friday, clearing the way for him to become prime minister on Monday. Silver $55.97 ▼ -7.2% wk Silver slid to an eight-month low as firmer US Treasury yields and a stronger dollar, both driven by the Iran-conflict oil spike, made the yieldless metal comparatively less attractive. Brent Crude $85.95 ▲ +14.3% wk Brent posted its strongest weekly gain in months after the US-Iran ceasefire collapsed, a US naval blockade choked Strait of Hormuz shipping, and Iran struck US bases across the region. FTSE 100 10,590.25 ▲ +0.3% wk London’s benchmark shrugged off a global tech selloff and a 5% Burberry slide on soft earnings, its low tech weighting and defensive tilt helping it outperform continental peers. German 10Y (Bund) 3.11% ▲ +6bps wk Bund yields climbed to their highest since May as the Iran-driven oil spike revived inflation concerns, even as most policymakers signalled a preference to hold rates this week. Ethereum (ETH) $1,833.34 ▼ -3.8% wk ETH cooled from a brief push above $1,900 as a sixth consecutive night of US strikes on Iran dulled risk appetite across crypto, though ETF inflows kept the broader pullback shallow. Dogecoin (DOGE) $0.0720 ▼ -2.9% wk DOGE stayed rangebound between roughly $0.071 and $0.078, with an Extreme Fear reading and thinning volume suggesting sellers are fading even without a confirmed reversal. The week of 13–17 July 2026 across European markets was dominated by the collapse of the fragile US-Iran ceasefire. Renewed and escalating US strikes on Iranian military and energy infrastructure, met with Iranian retaliation against US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, sent Brent crude up more than 14% for the week and pushed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to two-month lows after Washington reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports. That same energy shock cut two ways for European asset prices: it firmed the US dollar via revived Federal Reserve rate expectations even as softer US CPI and PPI prints for June briefly pointed the other way, and it kept German Bund yields elevated on the view that higher energy costs complicate the ECB’s disinflation progress. Silver bore the brunt of that dollar strength, falling to an eight-month low despite remaining sharply higher year-on-year. On the political side, Andy Burnham was confirmed as the UK’s new Labour leader on Friday and is set to be sworn in as prime minister on Monday, with sterling’s climb to one-year highs reflecting a market view that his succession has been unusually well telegraphed. The FTSE 100 absorbed a 5% Burberry drop on disappointing earnings and a broader global technology selloff to close essentially flat on the week, helped by its comparatively defensive sector mix. Crypto markets softened modestly as the conflict escalation dulled risk appetite, though Ethereum’s ETF-driven bid limited the damage. The set-up into the new week is whether PM Burnham’s cabinet and Chancellor announcement extends or reverses sterling’s rally, whether Thursday’s widely expected ECB hold comes with hawkish enough guidance to keep the September hike fully priced, and whether the Iran-Israel-US conflict escalates further or finds an off-ramp. 📋 This Week at a Glance · 20–24 July 2026 PM Burnham’s Cabinet Reveal, the ECB’s Rate Decision, and Friday’s Flash PMIs Are the Key Events to Watch From 20 July to 24 July The week of 20–24 July 2026 opens with Andy Burnham formally becoming the UK’s prime minister on Monday, with his choice of Chancellor — Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is the frontrunner — the single clearest scheduled catalyst for GBP/USD at 1.3474. EUR/USD at 1.1408 and German 10-year Bund yields at 3.11% turn to Thursday’s ECB rate decision, where markets assign an 88% probability of a hold at 2.25% alongside a September hike that is now fully priced. Silver at $55.97/oz and Brent crude at $85.95 both remain hostage to the Iran-Israel-US conflict, which escalated sharply last week after the ceasefire collapsed and shows no confirmed sign of de-escalation. The FTSE 100 at 10,590 and the broader European complex will also watch Friday’s flash Manufacturing and Services PMIs across Germany, France, the eurozone and the UK for the first clean read on how the energy shock is filtering through to activity. 🇬🇧 PM Burnham’s Cabinet Reveal Monday 🛢️ Iran-Israel-US Conflict Risk 🇪🇺 ECB Rate Decision Thursday 📊 Flash PMIs Friday Why Traders Choose CSFX 0.0 Pips Spreads Trade 2000+ markets with tight, consistent pricing. 1:10000 Leverage Trade all markets with high, flexible leverage power. 2000+ Instruments Access all markets in one powerful trading account. 24/7 Live Support Real help, any time you need it, day or night. See

Week Ahead: Yen Weakness Resurfaces Near Fresh Four-Decade Lows, China’s Loan Prime Rate Decision Tests the Hang Seng’s Rally, and XRP Defends Key Support | CSFX Asian Session Weekly · 20–24 July 2026

Chip Stocks Crater as the Iran War Grinds Through a Sixth Night of Strikes, Gold Slips Below $4,000, the Loonie Holds a One-Month High | Capital Street FX US Session Technical Analysis · 17 July 2026 (Live Update) Skip to main content Friday, 17 July 2026  ·  US Session Technical Analysis — Live Update ▸ CHIP ROUT DEEPENS, NASDAQ 100 AT ONE-MONTH LOW · GOLD SLIPS BELOW $4,000 · IRAN WAR: SIXTH STRAIGHT NIGHT OF US STRIKES · LOONIE HOLDS ONE-MONTH HIGH · QUAD-WITCHING EXPIRY TODAY Chip Stocks Crater as the Iran War Grinds Through a Sixth Night of Strikes, Gold Slips Below $4,000, the Loonie Holds a One-Month High USD/CAD ~1.4010 ▼ capped near a one-month low as firm oil supports the Loonie · USD/CHF ~0.8067 ▼ pinned by persistent Swiss-Franc safe-haven demand · Gold ~$3,999 ▼ sliding back below $4,000 as yields climb on oil-driven inflation fears · Brent Crude Oil ~$85.02 ▲ climbing on Iran-war supply fears · Nasdaq 100 ~28,500 ▼ extending its slide as the chip-stock rout deepens · US 5-Year Yield ~4.29% ▲ climbing on hawkish Fed repricing · Bitcoin ~$63,145 ▼ pressured by the broader risk-off tape · Solana ~$72.77 ▼ extending its slide with the wider crypto market Friday’s US session is dominated by a deepening rout in chip stocks that is dragging the Nasdaq 100 to its lowest level in a month, layered on top of a Middle East war that has now ground through a sixth consecutive night of American air strikes on Iran. A semiconductor sell-off that began with Netflix’s disappointing guidance and a competing open-source AI model release from Chinese startup Moonshot has pushed an industry gauge down roughly 20% from its record high, putting chipmakers on track for their worst week since the April 2025 tariff meltdown; Applied Materials, Lam Research, Micron, Nvidia and Arm are all down between 3% and 7% on the session, and the broader Nasdaq 100 has slipped to around 28,500, its lowest print since mid-June. Layered on top of the tech unwind is a still-escalating conflict between the United States and Iran: American forces conducted a sixth straight night of strikes against Iranian targets, reportedly hitting an oil tanker near the country’s main export terminal for the first time since Washington reimposed its naval blockade, while President Trump has warned Tehran that US forces could target the country’s power infrastructure next week absent a diplomatic breakthrough. Crude oil is holding above $85.02 a barrel, on track for an 11% weekly gain, and that oil-driven inflation scare is doing more to move markets than the war’s safe-haven angle: Gold has slipped back under the closely watched $4,000 level to around $3,999 an ounce as US Treasury yields climb on renewed Fed rate-hike bets, even as the war itself would ordinarily be expected to support the metal. The currency market is telling a similarly nuanced story. USD/CAD is capped near 1.4010, close to a one-month low for the pair, as firm crude provides a tailwind for the commodity-linked Loonie that is offsetting both the Bank of Canada’s cautious hold at 2.25% and a hawkish Federal Reserve repricing. USD/CHF, meanwhile, is pinned near 0.8067 as the Swiss Franc’s enduring safe-haven appeal limits the Dollar’s recovery even as the same Fed repricing lends the Greenback broad support elsewhere. In commodities, Brent Crude Oil is holding firm near $85.02 a barrel as the escalating Iran conflict keeps a supply-disruption premium in the price, with the market on track for a sizeable weekly gain. Digital assets are trading heavy alongside the broader risk-off tape: Bitcoin, which touched a 21-month low earlier this week, is changing hands near $63,145, while Solana has extended its own slide to around $72.77, even as Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade unit completed the rollout of spot crypto trading to its retail clients this week. Session Overview Chip stocks extend their bear-market rout and drag the Nasdaq 100 to a one-month low, Gold slips back below $4,000 as yields climb despite a sixth night of US-Iran strikes, the Loonie holds firm on oil, and crypto slides with the wider risk-off tape. Friday’s US session is defined above all by a semiconductor sell-off that has gathered pace all week. The rout, which traces back to Netflix’s weak forward guidance and the release of a surprisingly capable open-source AI model from Chinese startup Moonshot, has pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down more than 20% from its record close, putting the group that led this year’s rally on track for its worst week since the April 2025 tariff meltdown. Applied Materials and Lam Research are each down roughly 5% on the session, Intel and KLA Corporation have both lost more than 4%, and Arm, Micron and Nvidia are all sliding in the 3%-4% range. The Nasdaq 100 has fallen to around 28,500, its lowest level since mid-June, while the broader Nasdaq Composite is off more than 1.5% and the S&P 500 has shed close to 1%; today also marks a quarterly “quad-witching” options-and-futures expiration, which is likely to exaggerate intraday swings into the New York close. Layered on top of the tech unwind is a Middle East war that shows no sign of resolution. US forces carried out a sixth consecutive night of strikes against Iranian targets, with reports that an oil tanker near Iran’s main export terminal was hit for the first time since Washington reimposed its blockade on Iranian ports, while President Trump has warned that American forces could strike Iran’s power infrastructure next week unless diplomatic efforts produce a breakthrough. Crude oil is holding above $85.02 a barrel and is on pace for an 11% weekly advance, a scale of move that is doing more to reshape the rates and precious-metals story than the conflict’s safe-haven pull. Gold has slipped back below the psychologically important $4,000 level to trade near $3,999 an ounce, pressured by climbing Treasury yields as markets reprice the odds of a further Fed rate increase this year; the US 5-Year yield

Sterling Steadies as Burnham Prepares to Take Office, Euro Holds the Range Ahead of Next Week’s ECB Decision, the DAX 40 Extends Its Slide | Capital Street FX European Session Technical Analysis · 17 July 2026 (Live Update) Skip to main content Friday, 17 July 2026  ·  European Session Technical Analysis — Live Update ▸ STERLING STEADIES INTO BURNHAM HANDOVER · ECB DECISION LOOMS TUESDAY · DAX SLIPS TO 24,786 · SILVER SLIDES ON RATE FEARS · HORMUZ STANDOFF CONTINUES · ETHEREUM OUTPERFORMS Sterling Steadies as Andy Burnham Prepares to Take Office, the Euro Holds the Range Ahead of Next Week’s ECB Decision, the DAX 40 Extends Its Slide EUR/USD ~1.1445 ▬ range-bound ahead of the ECB’s 23 July decision · GBP/USD ~1.3487 ▼ easing from Wednesday’s high as markets digest the Burnham handover · Silver ~$55.20 ▼ sliding as rate-hike fears outweigh safe-haven demand · Natural Gas ~$2.89 ▼ near a two-month low on ample US supply · DAX 40 ~24,786 ▼ extending losses on tech-sector weakness · German 20Y Bund Yield ~3.38% ▲ holding near multi-month highs · Ethereum ~$1,842 ▼ pulling back after outperforming the week · XRP ~$1.10 ▬ consolidating on the reclaimed support Friday’s European session opens with markets digesting the resolution of a month-long UK political succession question alongside a still-unresolved Middle East standoff, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. Andy Burnham stood unopposed for the Labour leadership after nominations closed Thursday, backed by 379 of the party’s 402 sitting members; he is due to be confirmed at a special conference later Friday and will take office as Prime Minister on Monday following an audience with the King, formally ending Keir Starmer’s premiership. Sterling has pared back roughly half of one percent from Wednesday’s rally, which had carried GBP/USD to just below 1.3550 on reports that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, seen as the market-friendly choice, would be appointed Chancellor over the more fiscally expansive Ed Miliband. GBP/USD now trades near 1.3487, still comfortably above the 200-day moving average that had capped the pair for much of the spring, even as strategists caution that Burnham’s actual fiscal agenda remains almost entirely unstated. The Euro, meanwhile, is holding inside the 1.1362-1.1461 range that has contained the pair for the better part of a week, with EUR/USD near 1.1445 as traders position ahead of the European Central Bank’s 23 July decision; the Governing Council raised its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% in June and lifted its 2026 headline inflation projection to 3.0% on Middle East-driven energy costs, and while a July pause is the consensus view, Reuters reports investors are still positioning for a further hike in September if the conflict keeps energy costs elevated. In commodities, Silver is under renewed pressure, trading near $55.20 and on track for a weekly decline of more than 7%, as this week’s cooler US inflation data has done little to offset intensifying fears that Middle East-driven energy costs will force central banks back into tightening mode — a dynamic that hurts non-yielding metals even as the same conflict keeps a floor under oil. Natural Gas tells a genuinely divergent story either side of the Atlantic: the US Henry Hub benchmark is pinned near a two-month low around $2.89 per MMBtu on rising Lower-48 production, while the European TTF benchmark has climbed toward a three-month high near €55 per MWh as the Strait of Hormuz standoff squeezes LNG cargo flows into the region. Germany’s DAX 40 has extended its recent pullback to around 24,786, down roughly half a percent, weighed by Infineon, E.ON and Siemens Energy, even as a closely watched fund-manager survey shows a net 91% still expect European equities to rise over the next twelve months. German Bund yields remain elevated across the curve, with the 10-year holding near 3.12% and the 20-year point near 3.38%, as the same energy-driven inflation overshoot that is troubling the ECB keeps a bid under European borrowing costs into next week’s rate decision. In digital assets, Ethereum is pulling back to around $1,842 after a week in which it outperformed every major cryptocurrency, up roughly 8% against gains of just 2.4% for Bitcoin, on the back of returning ETF inflows and fast-growing demand from the new Robinhood Chain Layer-2, while XRP consolidates near its reclaimed $1.10 support after Ripple’s official documentation confirmed SWIFT-messaging interoperability for its payments software. Session Overview Sterling steadies as Andy Burnham prepares to become UK Prime Minister, the Euro holds its range ahead of next week’s ECB decision, Silver slides on rate-hike fears despite the ongoing Hormuz standoff, the DAX 40 extends its slide, and Ethereum outpaces a cautious crypto tape. Friday’s European session is defined above all by the resolution of a UK political succession question that has weighed on Sterling sentiment for the better part of a month, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. Nominations to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader closed on Thursday with Andy Burnham standing unopposed, backed by 379 of the party’s 402 sitting members; he will be confirmed at a special conference later Friday before taking office as Prime Minister on Monday, following an audience with the King. The succession question that shadowed the Pound for weeks is now formally over, even though the policy agenda that replaces it remains almost entirely unstated. GBP/USD has pulled back roughly half of one percent from Wednesday’s stunning rally, which had carried the pair to just below 1.3550 on reports that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood — seen by markets as the centrist, market-friendly choice — would be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer over the more fiscally expansive Ed Miliband. Sterling now trades near 1.3487, still holding comfortably above the 200-day moving average that had capped the pair for much of the spring. The Euro is treading water by comparison, with EUR/USD consolidating near 1.1445 inside the 1.1362-1.1461 range that has now contained the pair for the better part of a week. The European Central Bank’s Governing Council

Chip Stocks Extend Rout Into Asia as Nikkei Slides and Kospi Sits Out on Holiday, Wheat Hammers Out a Two-Year High on Black Sea Strikes, and the ASX 200 Slips on Banks and Miners | Capital Street FX Asian Session Technical Analysis · 17 July 2026 (Live Update) Skip to main content Friday, 17 July 2026  ·  Asian Session Technical Analysis — Live Update ▸ CHIP STOCKS SLIDE INTO ASIA · KOSPI CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY · WHEAT AT 2-YEAR HIGH · HORMUZ STANDOFF DAY 7 · YEN INTERVENTION RISK BUILDS · CHAINLINK OUTPERFORMS Chip Stocks Extend Their Rout Into the Asian Session as the Nikkei Opens Lower and the Kospi Sits Out on a Market Holiday, Wheat Presses to a Two-Year High on Black Sea Strikes, the ASX 200 Slips on Banks and Miners USD/JPY ~162.41 ▲ firm as intervention risk builds into the long weekend · NZD/USD ~0.5834 ▼ softer as the broad Dollar firms · Copper ~$6.24/lb ▼ easing from three-week highs on risk-off flows · Wheat ~$6.68/bu ▲ pressing to the highest level since May 2024 · ASX 200 ~8,765.00 ▼ down 0.85% as banks and miners weigh · Nikkei 225 ▼ opening lower, extending Thursday’s 2.8% slide · BNB ~$568.31 ▼ broadly flat in a cautious crypto tape · Chainlink (LINK) ~$8.25 ▲ outperforming, up nearly 9% on the week Friday’s Asian session opens under the shadow of Thursday’s Wall Street chip-stock rout, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. Equity-index futures point to a lower open across Japan and Hong Kong after the Nasdaq 100 slid roughly 1.6% Thursday on renewed doubts that massive AI infrastructure spending can justify current valuations, a move compounded after the close by Netflix shares sinking more than 8% in extended trade on guidance for a second consecutive quarter of slowing subscriber and sales growth. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled around 2.8% on Thursday — its steepest drop in weeks — as chip-adjacent names led the way down, with Kioxia off 8.7%, SoftBank Group down 5.9%, Tokyo Electron down 5.2%, and Advantest down 5.1%, and futures point to further softness at Friday’s open. South Korea’s Kospi, which whipsawed as much as 7.6% intraday on Thursday before trimming losses, is closed Friday for a market holiday, removing the region’s most volatile AI-proxy index from the session entirely. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is already trading 0.85% lower at 8,765.00 in early Sydney dealing, with heavyweight banks and miners — BHP is down roughly 5% over the past two sessions — offsetting gains almost everywhere else on the index. In currencies, the Dollar holds a broadly firmer tone into the Asian session: USD/JPY is consolidating just above 162.00, close to a four-decade top, with Japanese retail traders now sitting on their largest net Dollar-short position since records began in 2008 — a crowded trade that leaves the pair vulnerable to a disorderly short squeeze if Tokyo authorities decline to intervene before Monday’s Marine Day holiday thins out liquidity. NZD/USD, meanwhile, has eased to around 0.5834 as the Dollar firms broadly on continued US economic resilience, even as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s hawkish tilt keeps a floor under the Kiwi. Commodities are sending a genuinely mixed signal: Wheat has surged to its highest level since May 2024, trading near $6.68 a bushel, as fresh Russian and Ukrainian missile and drone strikes on Black Sea shipping threaten a critical global grain export corridor, while Copper has eased back to around $6.24 a pound from three-week highs as the broader AI-valuation risk-off mood weighs on industrial demand sentiment, even as tightening Chilean supply keeps a structural bid under the metal. The US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz grinds into a seventh consecutive day, with CENTCOM disabling a tanker attempting to run the blockade toward Kharg Island on Wednesday, keeping Brent crude near $84.60 and Gold hovering just above the psychologically important $4,000 level as elevated Fed rate-hike odds (around 51% for September) offset the safe-haven bid. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is due to speak later in the session, while Japan’s National CPI print for June is also due, both potential catalysts for the Yen and broader Dollar tone. In digital assets, Bitcoin is holding a firmer tone near the $64,000-$65,000 zone after this week’s cooler US inflation data, BNB is broadly flat near $568.31 in a cautious tape, and Chainlink is the standout outperformer, up nearly 9% on the week on rising CCIP transfer volumes and news of a Q4 2026 DTCC collateral-network deployment. Session Overview Chip stocks extend Thursday’s Wall Street rout into Asia as the Nikkei opens lower and the Kospi sits out a market holiday, Wheat presses to a two-year high on Black Sea strikes, Yen intervention risk builds into Monday’s long weekend, the ASX 200 slips on banks and miners, and Chainlink outpaces a mixed crypto tape. Friday’s Asian session is defined by a direct continuation of Thursday’s semiconductor-led selloff on Wall Street, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. The Nasdaq 100 fell roughly 1.6% Thursday as investors grew more skeptical that the scale of ongoing AI infrastructure spending can be justified by current valuations, and the mood soured further after the closing bell when Netflix shares dropped more than 8% in extended trading on management’s guidance for a second straight quarter of decelerating sales growth. Japan’s Nikkei 225 bore the brunt of the overnight spillover, tumbling approximately 2.8% on Thursday in its steepest one-day decline in weeks, led lower by chip-adjacent names: Kioxia Holdings slid 8.7%, SoftBank Group fell 5.9%, Tokyo Electron dropped 5.2%, Advantest lost 5.1% and Fujikura declined 5%. Bloomberg reports that equity-index futures are pointing to further declines for benchmarks in both Japan and Hong Kong as Friday’s session gets underway. South Korea’s Kospi, which had been the most violent swing factor in the region — plunging as much as 7.6% intraday on Thursday before paring the bulk of that loss — is closed for a market holiday on Friday, removing the

Chip Stocks Slide for a Second Day as US Blockade on Iran Grinds On, UnitedHealth’s Blowout Earnings Lift the Dow, Gold Slips Below $4,000, Retail Sales and Jobless Claims Beat, and Bitcoin Tops $64,300 | Capital Street FX U.S. Session Technical Analysis · 16 July 2026 (Live Update) Skip to main content Thursday, 16 July 2026  ·  U.S. Session Technical Analysis — Live Update ▸ CHIP STOCKS SLIDE A 2ND DAY · US-IRAN BLOCKADE GRINDS ON · UNH EARNINGS BLOW OUT · RETAIL SALES & CLAIMS BEAT · GOLD SLIPS BELOW $4,000 · CRYPTO EXTENDS RALLY Chip Stocks Slide for a Second Straight Day Even After TSMC’s Blowout Earnings, as the US Naval Blockade on Iran Grinds On, UnitedHealth’s Massive Earnings Beat Lifts the Dow, Gold Slips Below $4,000, Retail Sales and Jobless Claims Top Forecasts, and Bitcoin Tops $64,300 USD/CAD ~1.4011 ▼ softer as broad Dollar tone stays heavy · USD/CHF ~0.8076 ▲ capped as the Franc holds its safe-haven bid · Gold ~$3,992 ▼ slipping below the $4,000 handle · Brent Crude ~$84.56 ▼ steady near multi-week highs as the Hormuz blockade persists · Dow Jones ~52,748 ▲ firmer on UnitedHealth’s blowout beat · US 10Y Treasury Yield ~4.58% ▲ firming after a much-hotter Philly Fed print · BTC/USD ~$64,327 ▲ up over 2% and extending its rally · DOGE/USD ~$0.0720 ▲ up modestly as the broader crypto rally widens Thursday’s U.S. session is running two very different stories side by side on Wall Street, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. The semiconductor sell-off that began in Seoul on Tuesday has now stretched into a second straight session: Micron, Lam Research and AMD each fell 3–9% Wednesday, and Thursday’s premarket saw further losses across SMH, Arm and Taiwan Semiconductor even after TSMC posted a roughly 77% annual profit jump and raised guidance — a sign investors are rotating out of AI-linked names on valuation, not on any deterioration in AI demand. Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.7–0.9% into the open and the Nasdaq Composite is down near 0.8% early in the session. The Dow, by contrast, is on firmer footing: UnitedHealth Group posted second-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.38 a share versus $4.90 expected on revenue of $112.03 billion, raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $19.50–$20.00 from >$18.25, and jumped roughly 7% premarket, helping lift Dow futures by around 90 points, or 0.17%, even as the S&P 500 opened lower by roughly 0.4%. In currencies, the Dollar tone stays heavy, with USD/CAD holding near 1.4011 in the wake of Wednesday’s Bank of Canada hold at 2.25% and USD/CHF capped near 0.8076 as the Swiss Franc keeps its safe-haven bid. That bid continues to be driven by the Middle East: the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in effect for a second full day, CENTCOM has carried out a fifth straight day of strikes on Iranian military targets, and U.S. forces disabled a tanker attempting to run the blockade toward Kharg Island on Wednesday; President Trump has floated re-imposing a broader blockade and once again raised the idea of seizing Kharg Island outright, while separately walking back an earlier proposal for a 20% U.S. transit fee on Hormuz shipping in favor of pursuing trade deals with Gulf states. Brent crude is holding just below $85 and WTI near $80 as the standoff continues, while Gold has slipped below the psychologically important $4,000 level to trade near $3,992, capped by this week’s cooler CPI-and-PPI combination even as the Hormuz standoff keeps a geopolitical floor under the metal. On the data front, June Retail Sales rose a lighter-than-expected 0.2% m/m (0.7% ex-autos, a solid core reading), Initial Jobless Claims fell to 208,000 from a revised 216,000, and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index surged to 41.4 from 10.3, blowing past forecasts near 13 for its best reading since late 2021 — a combination that has nudged Treasury yields modestly higher into the rest of the session, with Business Inventories, the NAHB Housing Market Index and Pending Home Sales still due at 10:00 a.m. ET and remarks from Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid and Fed Governor Philip Jefferson later in the day. In digital assets, Bitcoin has extended its advance to above $64,300, up more than 2% on the session, while Dogecoin is up modestly to around $0.072 as the broader crypto rally, fuelled by reduced near-term Fed tightening odds and a stabilizing ETF-flow backdrop, continues to widen beyond the majors. Session Overview Chip stocks extend their slide into a second session even after TSMC’s blowout earnings, the U.S. naval blockade on Iran and continued CENTCOM strikes keep a geopolitical floor under oil, UnitedHealth’s massive earnings beat lifts the Dow, Gold holds just above $4,000, Retail Sales and Jobless Claims top forecasts, and Bitcoin and Dogecoin extend their rally into the U.S. session. Thursday’s U.S. session is running a genuinely two-track backdrop, per live Reuters, Bloomberg, Investing.com and FXStreet coverage. The semiconductor rotation that began Tuesday in Seoul — where SK Hynix and Samsung both fell sharply — has now stretched into a second straight session on Wall Street: Micron dropped 8–9% and AMD, Intel, Lam Research and Marvell all fell more than 3% on Wednesday, and Thursday’s premarket brought further losses in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), Arm and Taiwan Semiconductor, even after TSMC reported a roughly 77% jump in annual profit and raised its outlook. That disconnect between strong results and falling share prices, evident for a second day running, points to profit-taking and valuation-driven de-risking after a furious run in AI-linked names rather than any change in the underlying demand picture. Nasdaq 100 futures fell close to 0.7–0.9% into the open and the Nasdaq Composite (26,269.23 at Wednesday’s close) is down roughly 0.8% early in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed Wednesday up 150.37 points, or 0.29%, at 52,658.64, is bucking the weakness, with UnitedHealth Group jumping roughly 7% premarket after posting adjusted earnings of $6.38 a share — well ahead of