India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs U.S. President Donald Trump as they give joint statements in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, June 26, 2017.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Asia markets on Tuesday staged a staggering turnaround from the previous day. South Korea’s Kospi led gains in the region, soaring 6.7% as of 1:40 a.m. ET, after triggering a temporary pause in purchase orders earlier in the session. The index had also halted trading on Wednesday — but on the sell side — after it fell more than 5%.
A trade deal between the U.S. and India also turbocharged New Delhi’s markets.
India’s Nifty 50 rocketed as much as 5% at its open after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that America will lower so-called reciprocal tariffs on India to 18% from 25%. As part of the deal, New Delhi will “BUY AMERICAN” at “a much higher level,” and stop buying oil from Russia. Instead, India will import it from the U.S. and possibly Venezuela, according to Trump.
“When combined with the recently concluded India–EU trade agreement, this potentially represents one of the strongest external growth stimuli for the Indian economy in 2026,” said Trideep Bhattacharya, president, equities, at Edelweiss Asset Management.
The string of positive movements was also seen in gold and silver. Prices of both precious metals rebounded Tuesday, with spot gold up 4.8% and spot silver surging 7.3% as of publication time. There are concerns among some analysts, however, that silver is becoming this year’s “meme trade.”
Major U.S. indexes also climbed on Monday. The S&P 500 added 0.54%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.05% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56%.
On the continent, France finally passed its much-delayed 2026 budget after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence motions.
What you need to know today
SpaceX is acquiring startup xAI, announced Elon Musk in a blog post on Monday. The combined company is gearing up for a IPO, and is expected to price shares that would value it at $1.25 trillion, Bloomberg reported — providing xAI with a much needed infusion of cash.
A SoftBank subsidiary, Saimemory, has signed an agreement with Intel to work together on next-generation memory technologies, both companies announced Tuesday. Prototypes are expected by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2028, with commercialization targeted for fiscal 2029, according to a SoftBank press release.
Australia’s central bank raised rates by 25 basis points, bringing its benchmark rate to 3.85% on Tuesday. It’s the Reserve Bank of Australia’s first hike since November 2023 and comes amid inflation remaining hotter than expected.
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded Tuesday, recovering from Monday’s steep losses. South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added roughly 3.9%. U.S. stocks rose on Monday, despite Nvidia losing 2.9% on reports that its planned $100 billion investment in OpenAI has stalled.
[PRO] Buzz over robots. Musk announced Wednesday that Tesla is converting a California plant to build the Optimus robot, and rivals in China are ramping up deliveries of humanoid robots. Morgan Stanley thinks these firms will benefit from the industry’s growth.
And finally…
Chinese organized crime networks moved $16 billion in crypto in 2025: Report
Chinese-language money laundering networks funneled an estimated $16.1 billion in illicit funds through cryptocurrency transactions in 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by blockchain data analysis firm Chainalysis.
These networks, known as CMLNs, accounted for roughly one-fifth of the illicit cryptocurrency ecosystem in 2025, which Chainalysis valued at over $82 billion. The criminal networks primarily operate through various channels and chat groups on the messaging platform Telegram, where launderers advertise their services to prospective customers.
— Matthew Chin
