Daily Summary: The week ends on a positive note. SK Hynix up 14% on Nasdaq. Energy down (10.07.2026)

🇺🇸 US Equities & Market Sentiment

• US index futures shift to modest gains on geopolitics and tech optimism: Wall Street futures turned slightly positive, driven by optimism surrounding the SK Hynix debut and Donald Trump's announcement that the US has agreed to talks requested by Iran. Dow Jones (US30) and S&P 500 (US500) futures both gained 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 (US100) futures ticked 0.25% higher. Conversely, small-cap Russell 2000 (US2000) futures bucked the trend, dropping 0.45%.

• SK Hynix ADRs skyrocket 14% in historic New York debut: American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of the South Korean semiconductor giant surged 14% to $170 in Friday's session. The company raised a record-breaking $26.5 billion, marking the largest-ever market debut by a foreign firm in US history. Regular trading is scheduled to begin on Monday under the ticker symbol SKHY.

• Meta jumps 5.5% on custom chip production and monetization plans: Shares of the Facebook parent company rallied following news that it will launch production of its proprietary AI chips in September in partnership with Broadcom and TSMC. The strategy also involves monetizing surplus compute capacity to optimize data center costs and reduce its long-term reliance on Nvidia hardware.

🇪🇺 European Markets

• European benchmarks close Friday with moderate optimism: European markets booked steady gains, led by the British FTSE 100 (UK100) and Italian FTSE MIB (ITA40), which both advanced 0.7%. France's CAC 40 (FRA40) ticked up 0.25%, while Germany's DAX (DE40) ended the final session of the week flat.

🌍 Economics & Central Banks

• Canadian jobs data beats estimates but underscores trade drag: The Canadian economy added 18,000 jobs in June, pushing the unemployment rate down to a better-than-expected 6.5%. However, the growth was primarily driven by part-time positions, while the manufacturing sector shed 17,000 jobs due to US tariffs. While the data boosted the Canadian dollar by 0.25% against the greenback, it is unlikely to alter the Bank of Canada's broader policy outlook.

💱 Foreign Exchange (FX)

• Dollar index retreats to support as Yen leads G10 gainers: The US Dollar Index (USDIDX) slipped 0.1% back to its local support level near 100.600, responding to easing geopolitical tensions following the US-Iran talk alignment. The Japanese Yen emerged as the strongest G10 currency, with USDJPY and EURJPY dropping 0.5% after Japan’s Finance Minister announced plans to "encourage" domestic funds to invest in local assets. Risk appetite also lifted the Australian dollar (AUDUSD: +0.3%) and the New Zealand dollar (NZDUSD: +0.4%), while EURUSD finished flat at 1.1430.

🛢️ Commodities, Energy & Agriculture

• Energy benchmarks retreat on de-escalation headlines: Both crude oil and natural gas prices declined into the weekend as the White House softened its stance toward Iran. Brent crude dropped 0.6% to $75.60 per barrel, WTI shed 1% to $71.10 per barrel, and US natural gas (NATGAS) futures tumbled 2.8%, mirroring a 2% drop in European contracts.

• WASDE report triggers broad gains across agricultural commodities: The latest WASDE release reported lower-than-expected ending stocks for corn (1,790 million vs. 1,889.5 million projected) and soybeans (310 million vs. 335 million projected). Conversely, wheat (722 million) and cotton (4.1 million) ending stocks exceeded consensus. Despite the mixed supply data, the entire complex closed in positive territory: corn rose 2%, soybeans gained 1%, wheat jumped 3.5%, and cotton ticked up 0.7%.

• Gold is down 0.4% to 4100 USD/oz; Silver is down 0.35% to 53.77 USD/oz.

🪙 Cryptocurrencies

• Digital assets trade firmly higher: Major cryptocurrencies mirrored the broader macro risk-on shift. Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.15% to trade right at the $64,000 mark, while Ethereum (ETH) outperformed with a 2.6% advance, lifting its price to $1,795.