Germany's Chancellor Merz said he cannot criticize Lithuania's move to lift its ban on nuclear weapons.

Banking-sector financing margin loans hit a record 36.47 trillion won this year, double a year earlier. When brokerages pushed margin requirements toward 10%, retail investors shifted into bank credit instead; household bank lending rose 9.3 trillion won in May, the fastest monthly gain since Aug 2024. The Bank of Korea links the surge to equity investment rather than mortgages. Middle-aged and older Koreans are borrowing to buy stocks and typically deploy larger sums than younger investors; Korea has about 102 million active trading accounts versus a population of 52 million. Despite foreigners’ net sales of 120 trillion won of Korean equities year-to-date, retail investors have net bought 75 trillion won, largely with borrowed funds. Key stress signals: household debt-to-income ratio 174%; 44% of borrowers reported delinquencies or missed payments in the past six months; banks are restricting lending after annual quotas were exhausted months early; broker margin rates are near 10%. Markets currently price a Bank of Korea rate hike next month; higher policy rates would raise the cost of equity financing and bank credit and, if markets fall, could trigger severe forced selling of leveraged positions.

Australian S&P/ASX 200 opened 29.80 points higher (+0.34%) at 8,754.30 on Friday, July 3.