Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
The dollar came under modest pressure Tuesday as weak housing data out of the United States hit the tape. May housing starts and building permits both missed expectations, undercutting the greenback, while a sharp five percent drop in WTI crude oil to a three-and-a-half month low added to the pressure by pulling inflation expectations lower and raising fresh questions about the Fed's path forward.
Across the Pacific, Hong Kong equity markets are flashing caution heading into Wednesday's session. The Hang Seng snapped a two-day winning streak Tuesday, surrendering ground just beneath the twenty-four thousand five hundred level. Momentum has stalled, and traders are watching closely for whether sellers press the index further or buyers step back in to defend that floor.
Meanwhile, at the G-seven summit in Evian, the conversation extends well beyond Ukraine and the Middle East. Leaders are grappling with two deeply uncomfortable dependencies — their reliance on China's manufacturing supply chains and on American artificial intelligence infrastructure. Experts describe Beijing as the elephant in the room, a structural vulnerability that no communique can easily paper over.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
