Real-time News

The U.S. military says it carried out a deadly strike in the eastern Pacific against a drug-trafficking vessel operated by a “terrorist organization.”

Japan's Ministry of Finance: Japan's exports to the EU rose 14.5% year-on-year in May.

Tencent Holdings (00700.HK): Completed issuance of US$2.45 billion and RMB15 billion in notes.

Japan's Ministry of Finance: Japan's exports to the United States rose 12.5% year-on-year in May.

Japan's Ministry of Finance: Japan's crude oil imports in May fell 57.3% year-on-year; liquefied natural gas imports decreased 15.1% year-on-year to 3.96 million tons.

Japan's merchandise exports rose 17% year-on-year in May, below the expected 16.5% and the previous month's 14.80%.

Japan's merchandise imports rose 12.5% year-on-year in May, below the expected 12.8% and the previous figure revised from 9.70% to 9.80%.

Japan's core machinery orders rose 8.7% month-on-month in April, below the expected 0.9% and the previous reading of -9.40%.

Japan's core machinery orders rose 15.6% year-on-year in April, below the expected 9.3% and the previous reading of 5.90%.

On June 17th, according to foreign media reports, soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark contract down 1.8%, continuing to be dragged down by the decline in US crude oil futures. The most actively traded December contract traded between 67.84 cents and 69.63 cents. The preliminary peace agreement reached between the US and Iran led to a sharp drop in international crude oil futures, which weighed on the Chicago soybean oil market. Soybean oil is a major feedstock for biofuel production. On Tuesday, the estimated volume for the benchmark contract was 62,595 contracts, compared to 68,916 contracts in the previous trading day. Open interest was 259,934 contracts, compared to 253,939 contracts in the previous trading day.

On June 17, the G7 issued a statement saying that they support and are willing to contribute to the implementation of the US-Iran agreement. They reiterated that the right to unrestricted passage and fee-free shipping is the cornerstone of international trade. The defensive initiative led by France and the UK can play a vital role in protecting merchant ships, reassuring shipping companies, and assisting in confirming that all mines have been cleared, thereby facilitating the restoration of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. They strongly support a strong and comprehensive diplomatic follow-up agreement, building on the memorandum of understanding reached by US President Trump, to bring peace and security to all countries in the Middle East. They stressed that to achieve this goal, negotiations must be conducted to address the threats posed by Iran in the region and beyond, and to ensure that it never acquires nuclear weapons. They agreed that such negotiations would benefit from the active participation of relevant regional and international partners, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They reiterated that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons. They are committed to accelerating the diversification of energy supply routes to reduce global dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and increase our energy reserves. They welcomed Canada's significant additional production capacity to the global market in the coming years.

On June 17, the maritime news agency "Tanker Tracker" posted on social media that, according to satellite imagery confirmed on June 15, at least two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company had left the U.S. naval blockade, carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil. This marks Iran's first crude oil export in nearly two months. The post also stated that the National Iranian Tanker Company's "Strim" tanker was sailing out of Pakistan's exclusive economic zone. The ship had been stranded in that area for seven weeks, awaiting its return to an Iranian port.

Market news: South Korea is considering lifting restrictions on naphtha exports.

On June 17th, CNBC's Jim Cramer stated on Tuesday that investors are flocking to SpaceX (SPCX.O) because they are betting on Musk's ability to create a disruptive company, rather than the company's current profitability. "This stock is called SpaceX, but it could very well be called Elon Musk," Cramer said. Following its successful IPO last Friday, SpaceX quickly became one of the world's most valuable companies, with its stock price rising nearly 5% on Tuesday, surpassing several tech giants including Amazon and briefly exceeding Microsoft's market capitalization. This surge has intensified skepticism about whether SpaceX's approximately $2.5 trillion market capitalization is justified. However, Cramer believes that traditional valuation methods ignore the true value that many investors are buying. "This company may lose money for years, and such a high valuation is unreasonable. It's only valued this way because Musk is running it." Although Musk recently predicted that SpaceX could achieve $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, Cramer believes the stock's appeal goes far beyond any single prediction. “Buying SpaceX is essentially buying Elon Musk’s brain,” Cramer said. “I think the cult of Musk is real.”

Japan's Reuters Tankan Manufacturing Sentiment Index for June was 13, down from 8 in June.

Japan's Reuters Tankan non-manufacturing business sentiment index for June was 32, down from 29 in the previous month.

1. The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64% to 51,999.67 points, continuing to set new record highs. The S&P 500 fell 0.57% to 7,511.35 points, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15% to 26,376.34 points. JPMorgan Chase rose more than 3%, and Visa rose nearly 3%, leading the gains in the Dow. The Wind U.S. Tech Big Seven Index fell 0.37%, Nvidia fell more than 2%, Tesla fell more than 1%, and SpaceX rose 4.77%, closing with a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, surpassing Amazon to become the world's fifth-largest listed company. 2. The three major European stock indexes closed slightly higher. The German DAX rose 0.07% to 24,910.41 points; the French CAC40 rose 0.75% to 8,447.27 points; and the UK FTSE 100 rose 0.61% to 10,494.21 points. 3. International precious metals futures closed mixed. COMEX gold futures rose 0.03% to $4,353.00 per ounce, while COMEX silver futures fell 0.08% to $70.12 per ounce. 4. The most active US crude oil contract closed down 5.11% at $76.62 per barrel; the most active Brent crude oil contract fell 4.61% to $79.34 per barrel.

Market news: General Motors has begun discussions with Raytheon Technologies and L3 Harris regarding increasing arms production.

June 17th - According to foreign media reports on the 16th, the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran includes a $300 billion private fund aimed at stimulating investment in Iran, with more than half of the amount already pledged. The report, citing sources, stated that the fund aims to "provide economic incentives for both sides to facilitate a final agreement," and is a "private investment vehicle" that does not include any government funds or grants. Currently, companies headquartered in the United States, Gulf states, and Asia, South America, and Africa have pledged funds, covering sectors such as energy, logistics, manufacturing, and transportation.