Overnight Headlines 20th July 2026

 

Morning Pack

Monday 20 July 2026 · Market levels captured around 06:15–06:28 BST

Holiday / data note: Japan is closed for a public holiday, so the Nikkei figure shown is Friday’s close. The bond screen is also Friday’s cash close; there are no live U.S. cash Treasury prices this morning.

Top headlines

1. Oil returns above $90 as Iran hits tankers
2. Jordan becomes a new flashpoint in the U.S.–Iran war as troop deaths rise
3. Chinese helium ban threatens supplies to Europe
4. Beijing steps in to stem China’s stock-market decline with US$8.9bn of purchases
5. U.S. stock futures little changed after Wall Street’s losing week
6. Washington says it remains open to a diplomatic solution with Iran
7. Morgan Stanley becomes Wall Street’s leading bank for AI debt deals

Asia-Pacific

Market	Last	Net	%
Nikkei 225 (Fri)	64,141.12	−2,694.42	−4.03%
Shanghai	3,800.47	+36.315	+0.96%
Shenzhen	13,702.449	−4.435	−0.03%
Hang Seng	25,103.57	+541.33	+2.20%
ASX 200	8,814.90	+18.20	+0.21%
Kospi	6,598.76	−221.84	−3.25%
Straits Times	5,512.84	+3.41	+0.06%
NZX 50	13,696.03	+1.35	+0.01%

U.S. futures

Contract	Last	Day change	Implied open
Dow futures	52,344.0	−31.00 (−0.06%)	−42.42 (−0.08%)
S&P futures	7,502.75	+5.00 (+0.07%)	−6.94 (−0.09%)
Nasdaq futures	28,855.0	+81.75 (+0.28%)	+57.34 (+0.20%)
Russell 2000 futures	2,972.2	−1.30 (−0.04%)	−13.02 (−0.44%)

Friday U.S. cash close

Index	Close	Net	%
Dow Jones	52,146.42	−406.55	−0.77%
Nasdaq Composite	25,520.244	−361.702	−1.40%
S&P 500	7,457.69	−76.08	−1.01%
Russell 2000	2,962.217	−12.35	−0.42%
VIX	18.77	+2.04	+12.19%
TSX Composite	35,263.85	−76.30	−0.22%
Mexico IPC	66,634.23	+278.14	+0.42%

U.S. Treasuries — Friday cash close

Maturity	Yield	Change	Basis points
6-month	3.926%	+0.005	+0.5 bp
1-year	4.004%	+0.002	+0.2 bp
2-year	4.183%	+0.011	+1.1 bp
3-year	4.218%	+0.010	+1.0 bp
5-year	4.280%	+0.007	+0.7 bp
7-year	4.406%	+0.009	+0.9 bp
10-year	4.551%	+0.010	+1.0 bp
20-year	5.076%	+0.011	+1.1 bp
30-year	5.073%	+0.009	+0.9 bp

FX

Pair	Last	Net	%
USD/JPY	162.34	−0.05	−0.0308%
EUR/USD	1.1441	+0.0002	+0.0175%
GBP/USD	1.3465	+0.0012	+0.09%
EUR/GBP	0.8495	−0.0006	−0.0706%
USD/CHF	0.8071	−0.0001	−0.0124%
AUD/USD	0.6992	+0.0012	+0.17%
NZD/USD	0.5852	+0.0012	+0.2055%
USD/CAD	1.4008	−0.0012	−0.0856%
USD/KRW	1,479.23	−8.21	−0.552%
USD/CNY	6.7708	−0.0052	−0.0767%

Commodities

Commodity	Last	Net	%
WTI crude (Aug)	$84.25	+$1.76	+2.13%
Brent crude (Sep)	$90.18	+$2.08	+2.36%
Natural gas (Aug)	$2.881	−$0.03	−1.03%
RBOB gasoline (Aug)	$3.4232	+$0.0305	+0.90%
Heating oil (Aug)	$4.1484	+$0.0838	+2.06%
Gold	$4,012.30	−$6.14	−0.15%

Economic calendar — GMT

Time	Event	Forecast	Previous
06:00	Germany PPI m/m (Jun)	−0.2%	+0.3%
14:00	U.S. Leading Index m/m (Jun)	−0.1%	+0.1%

Market commentary

The session opens with a sharp divergence across Asia. Japan’s market is closed, leaving Friday’s steep Nikkei decline on the screen, while Hong Kong is rallying strongly and mainland Chinese shares are firmer after reports of state-backed buying. Korea remains under pressure after last week’s technology-led rout.

Oil is the dominant macro signal. Brent above $90 and WTI above $84 show that markets are attaching a larger risk premium to tanker attacks and the Strait of Hormuz. That is feeding directly into inflation concerns and helping to keep Treasury yields elevated at Friday’s close.

U.S. futures are mixed rather than uniformly risk-off: Nasdaq futures are firmer, the S&P is marginally positive on a day-change basis but still points to a slightly softer implied open, and Russell futures remain weak. With a very light economic calendar, geopolitical headlines and energy prices are likely to drive the early session.