![\"Nvidia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780993282_744_8640.jpg\")
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang hands out fried chicken to members of the media as he eats and drinks beer with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won at Kkanbu Chicken. Photograph: Jintak Han\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\nIntroduction: Chip stocks bounce back ahead of \u2018brat summer\u2019 for AI firms<\/p>\n
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.<\/p>\n
For the second day running, circuit breakers have been triggered on the Seoul stock exchange. But this time, it\u2019s because the market is rising unusually quickly, rather than tumbling like it did on Monday.<\/p>\n
Shares in South Korea\u2019s chip giants are surging today, as investors pile back into the market after yesterday\u2019s sell-off.<\/p>\n
This rally is boosting optimism that the recent drop in tech shares is a blip, rather than the long-feared AI market crash.<\/p>\n
Samsung Electronics\u2019s shares are up over 9% today, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix have surged by 15%.<\/p>\n
Those two heavyweight stocks have driven South Korea\u2019s KOSPI up by 8.4% in Tuesday\u2019s session, a day after it tumbled by 8%. Today\u2019s market rally triggered successive temporary suspensions of program buy orders, known as \u201csidecars\u201d in South Korea.<\/p>\n
SK Hynix was boosted by a new multiyear partnership with Nvidia to develop next-generation memory for AI systems, whicch saw Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang tour Seoul, meeting tech firms and handing out fried chicken to journalists:<\/p>\n
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang hands out fried chicken to members of the media as he eats and drinks beer with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won at Kkanbu Chicken. Photograph: Jintak Han\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote<\/a>, points out that the wild swings in the KOSPI are unusual, and worrying.<\/p>\n double quotation markA day with a rise or fall of less than 5% in the Kospi has become rare \u2013 a sign of just how volatile this market has become and, therefore, how much of the move is driven by speculation. Indeed, the Kospi\u2019s volatility index keeps rising to unbelievable levels, suggesting that when the music stops, there will be carnage.<\/p>\n Anyway, today we continue to observe the tech-versus-non-tech narrative play out \u2013 technology attracting flows while non-tech pockets of the market lag behind.<\/p>\n That narrative will be tested in the next few weeks, though, as several massive tech firms attempt to float on the stock market.<\/p>\n Last night, OpenAI filed for its initial public offering \u2013 which could value the firm behind the ChatGPT chatbot at more than $1tn. That puts OpenAI in a race with fellow artificial intelligence pioneer Anthropic, and Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX which is due to float on Friday.<\/p>\n Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe OpenAI news means that we will hear more about how much revenue it is generating and how much cash it is burning through in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n 2026 is set to be the \u2018brat summer\u2019* for these AI names, with their soaring valuations and big promises for how AI will change the world and send their revenues soaring.<\/p>\n [* For the benefit of any high court judges <\/a>reading, here\u2019s a guide to <\/a>Charli xcx\u2019s <\/a>recent album, <\/a>Brat<\/a>]<\/p>\n The agenda<\/p>\n 7am BST: German trade data<\/p>\n 9:45am BST: Treasury Comittee hearing on Financial Inclusion Strategy<\/p>\n 11am BST: NFIB\u2019s US Business Optimism Index<\/p>\n 1.30pm BST: US trade data for April<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.23 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Major Gulf stock markets have rebounded today, on relief that that Iran and Israel said yesterday they had stopped their latest spate of attack<\/a>s.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s benchmark index, the Tadawul, has gained 0.8%, with lender Saudi National Bank up over 3% earlier today.<\/p>\n Dubai\u2019s main share index is up 0.75%, and Kuwait\u2019s main market is 1.5% higher.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n London\u2019s stock market is slipping in early trading, down almost 0.5% or 48 points at 10,323.<\/p>\n Pharmaceuticals group GSK are the top faller, down 2.7%, after striking a $10.6bn (\u00a37.9bn) deal to buy US cancer specialist Nuvalent.<\/p>\n Mining stocks are also lower, as are oil producers BP and Shell.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>UK accounting watchdog to investigate PwC’s audit of WH Smith<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s accounting regulator has launched an investigation into PricewaterhouseCoopers, over its auditing of travel retailer WH Smith.<\/p>\n The investigation will look into PwC\u2019s auditing of WH Smith\u2019s financial statements for the financial year ended 31 August 2024.<\/p>\n The Financial Reporting Council says:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe investigation will be conducted by the FRC\u2019s Enforcement Division under the Audit Enforcement Procedure.<\/p>\n WH Smith is already being investigated by the City watchdog over an accounting error that misstated profits at its North American arm.<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a>Surprise interest rate rise in Indonesia<\/p>\n We have a surprise interest rate rise, in Jakarta, triggered by the Iran war.<\/p>\n Indonesia\u2019s central bank has raised interest rates by 25 basis points today, to 5.5%, as it tried to prop up the Indonesian rupiah.<\/p>\n The \u2018off-cycle\u2019 decision comes just a few weeks after the bank raised borrowing costs for the first time in two years,<\/p>\n The bank explained:<\/p>\n double quotation mark\u201cThis increase is a follow-up measure to strengthen the stabilization of the rupiah exchange rate against the impact of heightened global volatility caused by the war in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Oil drops as Trump says Iran peace deal in ‘final throes’<\/p>\n The oil price is dropping this morning, after Donald Trump declared that negotiations towards an Iran peace deal are in their \u2018final throes\u2019.<\/p>\n The US president made the comments to reporters at JFK airport after attending the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden (where he was roundly booed by the crowd<\/a>)<\/p>\n Trump insisted that Iran and Israel \u201cwere going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we\u2019re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take \u201ctwo or three days\u201d, adding that the strait of Hormuz would \u201copen up right away\u201d once the deal was signed.<\/p>\n Brent crude has dropped by 1% this morning, to $93 a barrel \u2013 still around $20\/barrel above its levels before the conflict began in late February.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The AI trade has continued to bounce back this morning, reports Deutsche Bank\u2019s Jim Reid:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe KOSPI (+7.35%) is sharply higher after its 9th worst day in 45 plus years of history yesterday (-8.29%). The Nikkei (+2.19%) is also benefiting from a recovery in technology stocks after a decline of over -3.5% yesterday.<\/p>\n Chinese stocks are up just over half a percent and other markets are broadly flat. S&P 500 (+0.26%) and NASDAQ 100 (+0.54%) futures are also continuing to recover after a decent session yesterday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full story: OpenAI confidentially files for initial public offering<\/p>\n OpenAI<\/a> has filed confidentially to go public on the US stock market, according to a company blogpost<\/a> published on Monday. The artificial intelligence<\/a> giant\u2019s debut on Wall Street is expected to be one of the most highly valued listings in market history with a valuation at more than $850bn.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recently submitted a confidential S-1. We expect it to leak so we\u2019re just announcing it,\u201d the company\u2019s post reads. \u201cWe have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it\u2019s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.\u201d<\/p>\n An S-1 is an investor prospectus submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in advance of an initial public offering (IPO). The confidential filing will give regulators a period to review and discuss the company\u2019s financial disclosures before investors and the public are able to view them.<\/p>\n More here<\/a>:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Introduction: Chip stocks bounce back ahead of \u2018brat summer\u2019 for AI firms<\/p>\n Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.<\/p>\n For the second day running, circuit breakers have been triggered on the Seoul stock exchange. But this time, it\u2019s because the market is rising unusually quickly, rather than tumbling like it did on Monday.<\/p>\n Shares in South Korea\u2019s chip giants are surging today, as investors pile back into the market after yesterday\u2019s sell-off.<\/p>\n This rally is boosting optimism that the recent drop in tech shares is a blip, rather than the long-feared AI market crash.<\/p>\n Samsung Electronics\u2019s shares are up over 9% today, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix have surged by 15%.<\/p>\n Those two heavyweight stocks have driven South Korea\u2019s KOSPI up by 8.4% in Tuesday\u2019s session, a day after it tumbled by 8%. Today\u2019s market rally triggered successive temporary suspensions of program buy orders, known as \u201csidecars\u201d in South Korea.<\/p>\n SK Hynix was boosted by a new multiyear partnership with Nvidia to develop next-generation memory for AI systems, whicch saw Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang tour Seoul, meeting tech firms and handing out fried chicken to journalists:<\/p>\n Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang hands out fried chicken to members of the media as he eats and drinks beer with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won at Kkanbu Chicken. Photograph: Jintak Han\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote<\/a>, points out that the wild swings in the KOSPI are unusual, and worrying.<\/p>\n double quotation markA day with a rise or fall of less than 5% in the Kospi has become rare \u2013 a sign of just how volatile this market has become and, therefore, how much of the move is driven by speculation. Indeed, the Kospi\u2019s volatility index keeps rising to unbelievable levels, suggesting that when the music stops, there will be carnage.<\/p>\n Anyway, today we continue to observe the tech-versus-non-tech narrative play out \u2013 technology attracting flows while non-tech pockets of the market lag behind.<\/p>\n That narrative will be tested in the next few weeks, though, as several massive tech firms attempt to float on the stock market.<\/p>\n Last night, OpenAI filed for its initial public offering \u2013 which could value the firm behind the ChatGPT chatbot at more than $1tn. That puts OpenAI in a race with fellow artificial intelligence pioneer Anthropic, and Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX which is due to float on Friday.<\/p>\n Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe OpenAI news means that we will hear more about how much revenue it is generating and how much cash it is burning through in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n 2026 is set to be the \u2018brat summer\u2019* for these AI names, with their soaring valuations and big promises for how AI will change the world and send their revenues soaring.<\/p>\n [* For the benefit of any high court judges <\/a>reading, here\u2019s a guide to <\/a>Charli xcx\u2019s <\/a>recent album, <\/a>Brat<\/a>]<\/p>\n The agenda<\/p>\n 7am BST: German trade data<\/p>\n 9:45am BST: Treasury Comittee hearing on Financial Inclusion Strategy<\/p>\n 11am BST: NFIB\u2019s US Business Optimism Index<\/p>\n 1.30pm BST: US trade data for April<\/p>\n