iSAM Securities Apex Integrates with CMC Markets to Expand Low-Latency Liquidity Access for Brokers

US-Iran Escalation Reignites Oil Surge and Inflation Concerns: Oil prices climbed sharply after fresh U.S.-Iran military strikes escalated Middle East tensions. Brent crude rose 4.6% to $79.47 per barrel, marking a third consecutive day of gains.

Hedge funds shook off March losses with their best first-half results in five years, with D.E. Shaw and Marshall Wace posting double-digit gains. Meanwhile, Microsoft is replacing OpenAI and Anthropic models in Excel and Outlook, and Amazon's latest $25 billion bond deal drew roughly half the orders of its March offering.

Asian equities fell as renewed selling in technology stocks fuelled concerns that the AI-driven rally has become overstretched. South Korea's KOSPI dropped 5.2% this morning, led by sharp declines in semiconductor names despite strong earnings from Samsung Electronics.