United Arab Emirates · Daily briefing
Double Espresso Daily · Friday · Inflation peaks
Vol 14 / №85 · Friday, 26 June 2026

Inflation peaks without a sting — but Big Tech can't catch a bid.

May PCE rose to 4.1% year-on-year, the highest since 2023, but the monthly pace came in below forecast and the 10-year yield fell to its lowest since mid-May — a hot print, yet no worse than feared. Oil erased its wartime gains, with Brent under $73 as tankers cleared Hormuz. Even so, the Nasdaq fell for a fourth straight day as Apple dropped 6% on price increases, overshadowing a 17% surge in Micron.

MarketsDaily briefing8 min read
S&P 500 −0.01% Nasdaq −0.46% · 4th drop Micron +17% Apple −6% May PCE 4.1% y/y · in line US 10-Yr 4.39% · lowest since mid-May Brent under $73 WTI ~$69 Gold bid EUR/USD ~1.074 DXY eased as yields fell Bitcoin ~$62k Hormuz ~35m bbl cleared S&P 500 −0.01% Nasdaq −0.46% · 4th drop Micron +17% Apple −6% May PCE 4.1% y/y · in line US 10-Yr 4.39% · lowest since mid-May Brent under $73 WTI ~$69 Gold bid EUR/USD ~1.074 DXY eased as yields fell Bitcoin ~$62k Hormuz ~35m bbl cleared
Hormuz · REOPENING

20+ tankers carrying ~35m barrels have now cleared the strait; oil has erased its wartime gains · caveat: still interim — the central route is being demined and the talks are unresolved

As of Fri 26 Jun 2026, 06:30 GST

01 · Market Snapshot

The four numbers Friday is opening on.

4.1%

May PCE

y/y · in line; monthly came in softer

4.39%

US 10-Yr yield

lowest since mid-May as fears ease

−0.46%

Nasdaq · Thu

4th straight drop, despite Micron +17%

<$73

Brent

war premium fully erased

02 · The Lead

A friendlier macro, a stubborn tech unwind.

The backdrop turned friendlier this week — an in-line inflation peak, collapsing oil and a bond rally — yet the market's old leaders keep derating. The question now is less about the Fed than about whether the AI and mega-cap complex can find a floor.

03 · Market Reactions

Bonds rally, oil sinks, tech stays heavy.

  • An in-line PCE eased the worst fears — yields fell, with the 10-year at its lowest since mid-May.
  • Oil kept sliding, erasing the war premium as Hormuz traffic resumed.
  • Tech stayed heavy — Apple's 6% drop outweighed Micron's 17% surge; the Nasdaq fell a fourth day.

Equity figures are Thursday 25 Jun's close; FX levels are the latest available and approximate.

4.1%

May PCE · y/y

in line · 2023 high

4.39%

US 10-Yr

lowest since mid-May

−0.46%

Nasdaq · Thu

4th straight drop

<$73

Brent

war premium erased

Equities · VIX
Spotlight · Apple
−6%
price hikes hit the Mag7

Apple led the Nasdaq to a fourth straight loss on MacBook and iPad price increases — even a 17% Micron surge couldn't offset it.

Show all movers
S&P 500 −0.01% · flat
Nasdaq −0.46% · 4th straight
Micron +17% · blowout
Apple −6% · price hikes
Rates · Bonds
Spotlight · US 10-Yr
4.39%
lowest since mid-May

A softer-than-feared monthly PCE, plus collapsing oil, pulled yields down and eased the hawkish-Fed pressure.

Show all rates
US 10-Yr 4.394% − lower on the print
US 2-Yr ~4.15% eased
Fed funds 3.50-3.75% Oct hike less certain

Yield-up = red, yield-down = green. 2-Yr approximate.

Commodities
Spotlight · Brent
<$73
−1.79% · wartime gains gone

More than 20 tankers (~35m barrels) have cleared Hormuz; the supply scare that drove the year's inflation has unwound.

Show all commodities
WTI ~$69 −1.66%
Gold ~$4,120 firmer as yields fell
Silver ~$75 ~flat

Commodity levels approximate, latest available.

FX · Crypto
Spotlight · US Dollar
eased
off its one-year high

The dollar slipped from a one-year high as Treasury yields fell on the softer monthly inflation read.

Show all FX & crypto
EUR/USD ~1.074 firmer
USD/JPY ~160 dollar eased
Bitcoin ~$62k soft with tech

FX/crypto levels approximate, latest available.

04 · Chart of the Day

A 17% Micron pop couldn't lift the Nasdaq.

Thursday's movers · % change

A blowout, a 6% drop, a flat tape.

Micron's surge and Apple's slide cancelled out at the index level — the market went almost nowhere while individual names moved violently.

0% Micron +17% S&P 500 −0.01% Nasdaq −0.46% Apple −6%
Key takeaway · Even a 17% jump in the memory bellwether couldn't pull the Nasdaq green; Apple's 6% drop on price hikes sent it to a fourth straight loss, while the S&P 500 finished flat — a market rotating, not trending.

Source: TheStreet, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, close of Thu 25 Jun 2026.

05 · What Else Matters

Three headlines shaping today.

Macro

Inflation peaks — without a sting

  • May PCE hit 4.1% y/y (a 2023 high) but the monthly +0.4% came in below forecast; core ran +0.3%.
  • The 10-year fell to 4.39%, its lowest since mid-May — and oil's drop isn't in the data yet.

CNBC · Yahoo Finance · BEA · 25 Jun

Tech

Apple drags as Micron soars

  • Apple fell 6% on MacBook and iPad price increases, leading the Nasdaq to a 4th straight loss.
  • Micron jumped 17% on its blowout, but the mega-cap unwind kept the index red.

TheStreet · CNBC · 25 Jun

Commodities

Oil's war premium is gone

  • Brent fell under $73 and WTI to ~$69, erasing the gains from the conflict.
  • More than 20 tankers (~35m barrels) have now cleared Hormuz since the agreement.

Reuters · TheStreet · 25 Jun

06 · MENA Focus

Hormuz clears; the premium is gone.

The reopening is now visible on the water: more than 20 tankers carrying roughly 35 million barrels have moved through Hormuz, and oil has given back the entirety of its wartime gains. For the Gulf that is a genuine de-risking — lower shipping and insurance costs, a calmer security picture — but a Brent under $73 also squeezes the export revenue that funds regional budgets and giga-projects. The de-escalation is real, though still interim with the talks unresolved. A softer global inflation read and lower US yields ease imported financial conditions a touch via the dollar pegs.

Vault Wealth's house view: cheaper oil and calmer geopolitics favour GCC domestic-demand and financial names over energy producers at the margin; stay selective, and treat the lower-yield, lower-oil mix as a modest tailwind for regional risk assets while the talks continue.

Hormuz

~35m bbl

Cleared by 20+ tankers since the agreement

Brent

<$73

War premium fully erased

US yields

Lower

Eases dollar-linked financial conditions

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