📈 Asian Markets Surge on Micron Earnings; Oil Erases War Premium

• Market Sentiment: Asian equities rallied sharply as strong earnings and forecasts from Micron and Qualcomm eased recent valuation concerns over the global AI sector. • Regional Indices: Japan's Nikkei surged over 4%, South Korea's KOSPI gained 5.5% (bringing YTD gains to 112%), and Taiwan stocks rose 0.9%. MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan increased by 1.6%. US futures also rose, led by Nasdaq futures up 1.8%. • Corporate Highlights: Micron reported $22 Bn in memory chip commitments from customers, while Qualcomm expects $15 Bn in data center sales by 2029. South Korea's SK Hynix plans to raise up to $29.52 Bn via a secondary Nasdaq listing. • Energy & Commodities: Brent crude fell 1.6% to $72.53/barrel, erasing all war-related gains as tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz following an initial accord ending the US-Israeli war with Iran. Spot gold dropped below $4,000/ounce for the first time in 2026, fetching $3,990 due to a stronger US dollar. • Forex & Inflation: The US dollar index hit 101.6 ahead of May PCE inflation data (expected at 4.1% YoY headline). Rising US rate hike expectations pushed the Japanese yen to 161.73 per dollar, nearing its lowest level since 1986 and raising prospects of Tokyo's intervention. _Note: Summarized based on provisional global market data as of June 25, 2026._