Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Oil fell for a third day as flows through the Strait of Hormuz climbed and there were signs of progress in indirect talks between the US and Iran. Brent for September traded below $71 a barrel, after sliding more than 3% in the previous two sessions, while West Texas Intermediate was around $68. Oil supply through the critical waterway has reached more than 10 million barrels a day, underscoring Tehran’s now-limited ability to halt shipping, a US official said, while President Donald Trump hailed progress in negotiations.
2) The latest bout of volatility in technology stocks entered a second day, with chipmakers in South Korea bearing the brunt of the selling. The dollar fell and Treasuries wavered ahead of the June US payrolls report.Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.4% after semiconductors led Wall Street lower in the previous session. S&P 500 contracts were flat. Memory makers SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. lost a combined $290 billion in value to drive a 7.9% slump in South Korea’s Kospi index. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 0.5%, with technology among only three of the 20 index sectors to lose ground.
3) The SEC is looking into Susquehanna International Group’s allegations that unknown insider traders made $100 million on options bets ahead of a recent Chinese regulatory crackdown on cross-border brokerages, according to a person familiar with the matter.Susquehanna went public with its claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the trades described in the market-making firm’s complaint, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential probe.