Global markets are navigating a complex landscape of European political instability and shifting risk appetites, while US trading paused for the Juneteenth holiday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s sudden resignation introduces fresh uncertainty in Westminster, contrasting sharply with the robust, tech-led optimism observed in US markets prior to the break. In Asia, South Korea faces a confluence of domestic headwinds, ranging from renewed border tensions with North Korea to intense political debates over real estate taxation.
Korea. South Korean equities faced significant downward pressure in the latest available session, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ plunging 3.43% and the KOSPI edging lower by 0.13%. This equity weakness appears compounded by a depreciating local currency, as the USD/KRW exchange rate climbed 0.80% to 1,537.56, alongside emerging geopolitical friction regarding North Korean construction near the military demarcation line.
US. US exchanges were closed for the Juneteenth holiday, but data from the prior session highlights a definitive risk-on sentiment, led by a 1.91% surge in the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 breaching the 7,500 threshold. This upward momentum was underpinned by a sharp 11.06% contraction in the VIX and a slight easing in 10-year Treasury yields, suggesting investors remain confident in domestic growth despite overseas political noise.
🏛️ NYSE closed today — Juneteenth
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced he is stepping down as head of the Labour party, after several days of mounting pressure following the election of his rival in a critical election Andy Burnham. He will remain prime minister until his successor is chosen. FRANCE 24's journalists tell us what to know.
France 24
Keir Starmer announced his intention to step down as Britain’s prime minister on Monday, succumbing to intense party pressure as his popularity plummeted and rivals manoeuvred to challenge him. “Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party,” an emotional Starmer said in a short speech outside 10 Downing Street in London. Starmer, who up until Monday had resisted calls to stand aside, said he would remain...
SCMP
After less than two years as PM, Keir Starmer announces his resignation amid mounting pressure from own Labour Party.
Al Jazeera
Starmer announces he'll resign as UK prime minister as Burnham confirms bid to succeed himAP News
AP News
At first glance, the images looked like those of a happy family in Singapore. There were photos of the couple during their school days and on dates, the woman pregnant and the man holding their supposed newborn with a caption that read: “My boys”. Except the family did not exist – the images were all AI-generated. The man in the photos did not even know about them until a friend alerted him in December last year, The Straits Times reported on Sunday. In real life, he was not married or in a...
SCMP
Yonhap News - Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized Kim Yong-beom, the Presidential Office's Chief of Policy, on the 22nd for mentioning property tax and capital gains tax as real estate policy measures, stating they are "not a last resort, but a measure that should not be used." Mayor Oh posted on his Facebook page today...
네이버뉴스
On the 22nd, the Ministry of National Defense stated that North Korea's 'barrenization' work, which involves erecting structures like fences in areas only about 80 meters from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), constitutes "a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement by the North Korean military's installation of obstacles in the MDL area." In contrast, the United Nations Command (UNC), which manages the Armistice Agreement, expressed a differing view from our military authorities, stating that "construction activities or fortification within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) do not automatically constitute a violation of the Armistice Agreement." Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jeong Bit-na made this statement at a Ministry of National Defense briefing today regarding North Korea's recent installation of fences near the MDL. The explanation is that under the Armistice Agreement, the DMZ serves as a buffer zone to prevent the recurrence of hostile acts, and therefore, laying mines or similar actions in the DMZ is intended to eliminate this buffer zone, constituting a violation of the agreement. North Korea has continued 'barrenization' work, including laying mines and installing various structures such as fences within the DMZ since 2024. Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration in June last year, the Ministry of National Defense has commented on North Korea's barrenization work within the DMZ...
동아일보
(1) The government can control housing prices. The current government has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to "not repeat the failures of the Moon Jae-in administration" regarding real estate policy. A strategic approach to shift demand by fostering more attractive financial investment tools such as stocks...
한국경제
Mayor Oh stated, "Real estate policy is judged by its results, not its intentions. We clearly remember the catastrophic failure during the past Moon Jae-in administration, where housing prices could not be controlled, and tenants were driven into a hellish 'jeonse' crisis," he added, "Suppressing the market with taxes..."
뉴시스
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Jeong-hoon = The National Election Commission held a committee meeting on the 22nd and stated that "the investigation by the fact-finding committee revealed systemic problems across election management..."
연합뉴스