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Global Markets, AI Hype, and Middle East Tensions

Monday, June 1, 2026
5 min read
Global Markets, AI Hype, and Middle East Tensions

Asian markets kicked off Monday higher. It felt like the AI hype was holding things together, pushing demand for those chips hard, which managed to mask the sluggishness from the Gulf peace talks. That slow progress, though, just made things worse for hopes about reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices climbed, naturally.

The tension over the Middle East is still thick. Negotiators from Washington and Tehran are still circling, trying to nail something down. But President Trump? Silence. No comment on where they stand.

Meanwhile, the risk factor is still huge. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it clear on Saturday. If no deal happens, the US is ready to attack Iran again. That just ratchets up the pressure. Israel is moving further into Lebanon, fighting Hezbollah, adding another layer to the whole mess.

You see that tension playing out everywhere.

Michael Feroli, head of US economics at JPMorgan, he put it plainly: there are uncertainties, sure. But the real danger for the global economy? It should be over if those tankers can finally start moving again.

Oil prices are set to stay high for a while. Supplies are being rebuilt, infrastructure is being fixed in the Middle East. Brent oil ticked up 1.9% to $92.89 a barrel. U.S. crude followed suit, jumping 2.4% to $89.46.

And the markets reflected that mix. Asian stocks were supported by that AI demand . Japan’s Nikkei climbed another half percent, pushing up after already hitting record highs last week. South Korea jumped 1.3%, and Taiwan was up almost six percent. MSCI’s main Asia-Pacific index outside Japan added a small 0.2%.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is opening the Computex trade show in Taiwan on Monday. He’ll be talking about AI, about new products, and Taiwan’s massive role in this whole industry. It’s all tied up there.

Europe felt the squeeze too. EUROSTOXX 50 futures dipped a little, DAX futures dropped, and FTSE futures lost half a percent. S&P 500 futures edged up a bit, and Nasdaq futures gained 0.4%. But you have to remember where the real strength was. Most of those gains came from the top ten AI-related companies . They make up forty percent of the S&P 500, but only twenty-one stocks actually hit new highs across the board.

Tech stocks were doing well, up nearly sixteen percent in May. Consumer and healthcare stocks were barely moving, growing just over two percent. Consumer staples, though? They fell more than three percent.

The oil situation keeps dragging bond markets down. U.S. 10-year yields ticked up three basis points to 4.470%. Markets are still weighing the possibility of a Fed rate hike later this year. It’s that fifty-fifty call on whether they’ll raise rates to finally tame inflation.

We’ve got some data coming up. Several Fed officials are speaking this week. Important numbers are due Friday: the ISM manufacturing survey and the May jobs report. Everyone is expecting a solid bump of eighty-five thousand jobs, keeping unemployment sitting at four point three. If the numbers are strong, that rate hike gets much more likely.

That cautious view has kept the dollar steady, but the yen and the euro are weaker. That makes sense, because those regions rely heavily on energy imports.

The dollar was slightly stronger against the yen at 159.42. Traders, though, are still watching closely. They’re careful about pushing past sixteen hundred in case Japan decides to intervene. The euro hovered around $1.1645, staying between $1.1585 and $1.1661 last week.

Gold, meanwhile, stayed flat at $4,535 an ounce. It didn't get much support, not as a safe haven, not really as an inflation hedge. Just there.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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