Brent crude fell below $72.5 a barrel and extended losses for a fourth straight session, returning to levels seen before the U.S.-Iran tensions escalated. Physical crude markets have weakened, and the forward curve has shifted into bearish contango. The report says sentiment has swung from supply-disruption fears to expectations of surplus, driven by diplomatic progress, improving shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and rising crude supply from the Middle East and Africa.

Bitcoin and ether led nearly $1 billion in futures liquidations across major crypto markets, as a broader AI-linked trading theme continued to shape sentiment. Bitcoin briefly slid to around $59,175 before rebounding to roughly $61,500, and the move triggered about $430 million in liquidations tied to bullish bitcoin bets. The selloff and rebound unfolded as traders also looked to tokenized stock exposures tied to chip names such as Micron Technology Inc (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK).

CoinEx has also reportedly interacted with terrorist organizations, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The exchange has also had dealings with sanctioned Russian entities.

International gold prices fell to a seven-month low, briefly dropping to $3,964 an ounce and more than 20% below the January peak, a threshold often associated with a bear market. Silver also slipped below $60 an ounce. The declines were driven by a stronger U.S. dollar and firmer expectations for higher U.S. interest rates after hawkish signals from Federal Reserve officials such as Chair Kevin Warsh. Gold-linked stocks including Hindustan Zinc, Manappuram Finance and IIFL Finance traded lower.

Metal stocks fell broadly on Thursday, with Vedanta, NALCO and Hindustan Zinc down about 3% each, while the Nifty Metal index slipped 1% to 12,496. The move followed a 7% drop in international silver prices to $57.70, more than halving from the late-January 2026 peak of $121.78. A firmer US dollar—its index near a one-year high of 101.5—and expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike in September also weighed on sentiment. China’s May steel exports fell 3% year on year, adding to concerns over global metals demand.

Shares of India’s metal producers including Vedanta, NALCO and Hindustan Zinc fell as much as 3% in a single session as metal prices slid on the London Metal Exchange. Silver has dropped as much as 14% this week to a seven-month low, while aluminium fell to a three-month low and copper and zinc hit multi-month lows. The moves were attributed to a stronger dollar, fading Middle East risk premium linked to U.S.-Iran talks, and rising expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike later this year.

Brent crude has fallen to $73 a barrel, its lowest level since the U.S.-Iran war began on February 28, 2026, and is down 37% from its May 2026 peak of $115 a barrel. The drop helped lift India’s Nifty Auto index 2.2% in a single session, with several auto stocks rising 2%–3%. The report attributes the rally to easing diesel costs and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for fleet operators as oil prices decline.

Qualcomm rose 12% in after-hours trading after lifting its full-year revenue forecast to $40 billion from $22 billion and unveiling the Dragonfly C1000 data-center CPU that Meta plans to use. Micron Technology added nearly 16% after raising its outlook and beating analysts’ estimates. The earnings-driven move pushed chip-related shares higher across Asia, lifting Tokyo Electron 7.1%, Advantest 13.4%, Samsung Electronics 5.4% and SK Hynix 11.6%, with the Nikkei 225 up 4.1% and South Korea’s Kospi setting a record. Among the U.S. tech names cited, only Micron and Qualcomm are presented as direct, fresh, above-expectations earnings catalysts.