Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and headlines.
Iran and Oman have reached an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but the deal is drawing sharp pushback from the shipping industry. Tehran's plan to levy transit fees on vessels passing through the critical waterway has outraged shipowners, who see it as an unprecedented and legally dubious toll on one of the world's most vital energy chokepoints.
Turning to earnings, Restaurant Brands International came in ahead of expectations as Burger King's domestic operation delivered same-store sales growth of eight point five percent. That is a strong number by any measure, signaling the chain's ongoing domestic turnaround is gaining real traction, and investors will be watching whether that momentum can carry into the back half of the year.
And in Seoul, SK Hynix briefly went into freefall during premarket trading, dropping thirty percent before recovering much of the loss in what appears to have been a flash crash. A Societe Generale strategist suggested the broader Korean equity shakeout may be nearing its end, though that kind of intraday volatility is a reminder of just how fragile sentiment remains in the semiconductor space right now.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
