Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your Monday open across the macro landscape.
Harvard's endowment made a pointed move in the first quarter, liquidating its entire Ethereum position and trimming its Bitcoin holdings. When one of the world's most sophisticated institutional investors quietly reduces crypto exposure, it signals a recalibration of risk tolerance at the highest level, not panic, but deliberate portfolio discipline.
Shifting to commodities, oil is moving lower this morning as reports suggest the Strait of Hormuz may reopen in the near term. That waterway handles roughly a fifth of global crude flows, so any easing of tensions there is immediate downward pressure on prices. Asia-Pacific markets are opening mixed on the news, with energy relief offset by broader uncertainty.
And on the rare earth front, the U S-China truce remains technically active through November of this year, but Beijing is still throttling physical shipments despite the agreement. That gap between diplomatic posture and actual supply chain behavior is keeping three domestic rare earth producers in sharp focus for investors who understand that policy promises and port volumes are two very different things.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
