Korea Selloff Deepens as SK Hynix Plunges Most on Record | The Pulse 7/13/2026

BNO is the United States Brent Oil Fund, LP, an exchange-traded fund designed to track Brent crude oil futures performance.

Most direct liquid proxy for Brent move described in the news.

In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy.

Oil spike/risk premium supports sector earnings and flows near term.

The composition and weighting of the securities portion of a portfolio deposit are also adjusted to conform to changes in the index.

Growth benchmark sensitivity to higher yields + semi-driven drawdown risk.

Broad semi basket may see sympathy selling from Korea memory shock.

Key points: (1) Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says inflation fight is not finished, but markets interpret testimony as not newly hawkish; softer-than-expected headline/core US inflation drives a front-end rates rebound, supportive for equities. (2) Oil holds near a 1-month high amid Iran-related shipping disruptions/blockades and changes to planned cargo fees in Strait of Hormuz. (3) IBM plunges on a quarterly sales miss, attributed to an AI-driven chip shortage. (4) In Asia, chip stocks in Korea (SK Hynix) rebound; banks rallied in the US on earnings.

Bloomberg 'Balance of Power' segment reports: (1) U.S. reinstates a naval blockade affecting vessels transiting to/from Iranian ports and launches additional strikes on Iran; (2) Trump backs off a proposed 20% fee on Strait of Hormuz shipments, saying revenue would be replaced via investment deals; (3) Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterates price-stability focus and that more work is needed on inflation despite CPI showing prices falling for the first time in six years. Net: elevated Middle East shipping/geopolitical risk (potential oil/shipping risk premium) alongside still-restrictive Fed messaging.

Soft CPI (core still above 2% but monthly gauge declined YoY for first time in 2026) pushed yields lower and lifted risk assets: S&P 500 +0.4%, Nasdaq 100 +1.2%. 2Y Treasury yield fell ~9 bps (was -14 bps intraday). Brent rose to ~ $85/bbl amid Middle East developments. Additional headlines: an IBM negative driver and heightened scrutiny of big U.S. banks.

PJM (a major U.S. regional power grid operator/market) indicated it missed a power supply target and is at a “slightly elevated risk” of inadequate supply amid rising demand associated with AI/data centers. This points to tightening capacity in parts of the Mid-Atlantic/Midwest power market and potential acceleration of grid upgrades and higher power prices/capacity revenues.

Headline suggests Trump is shelving (not implementing) a proposed 20% fee on cargo shipments transiting the Strait of Hormuz. If true/credible, it reduces an immediate policy-driven cost/shock to global trade flows through the Gulf, easing near-term inflation and energy-shipping risk premia. The body text is fragmentary, so confidence is moderate-low.

Sotheby’s management commentary suggests very strong auction market conditions: high buyer demand, all‑time‑high activity metrics (sell‑through), improved consignment quality from sellers, continued Middle East participation, and a rebound in Asian buyers/new bidders. Sotheby’s itself is privately held, so the actionable angle is via listed luxury/collectibles/marketplace proxies that could benefit from stronger high-end discretionary demand.

Segment describes an IBM-driven selloff pressuring the software sector, strength in major banks on earnings (notably JPM), a bullish analyst target raise on AMD, and weakness in Lucid (LCID). Overall: mixed tape—financials/semis up, software down, with specific catalyst-driven moves (IBM prelim sales miss; AMD upgrade).

Trump Shelves Hormuz Fee After Gulf Pressure | Balance of Power 7/14/2026 Bloomberg TV and radio. I'm Joe Matthew in Washington. trading all day. Uh, following major bank earnings before That's a drop of one tenth of 1%. IBM certainly weighing on the Dow. We've got IBM right now plunging by 24%. The Nasdaq Composite index up by 1%, the today. The VIX just above 16 and the ten year of WTI Brent just below 85 right now. Barrel of Brent crude up by 1.9%. Again, IBM shares they are plunging by 25% this after preliminary results and tenth of 1%. Bank earnings are front and center JPMorgan Chase shares are right now, JP Morgan chase up $6.29 to 340 82 for JPM. All right, Charlie, thank you so much. Stunning move in IBM. Still at this hour? We'll keep track on all of these stocks Thanks for being with us. We're live in Washington DC. encouragement here in the markets. Of course, watching and listening along point. No forward guidance was his mantra, and no forward guidance is what we got. Interesting, when we look at the tell you is they really can't affect the economy in a short run kind of fashion. wanted to call it. He calls it a reimbursement on shipments fact, in the Oval Office a sh