BOC Governor Macklem said keeping the policy rate unchanged helps balance risks.

The ratio of protective puts to speculative calls on KOSPI 200 has climbed toward 2.5x as of the last close, a five‑year high and near levels that historically presaged sharp declines. Prior breaches of the 2.5 threshold (July 2007 and January 2021) were followed by roughly a 17% fall in one month and a >5% drop in three weeks, respectively. The shift reflects cooling momentum in the Korean market and rising investor caution on AI-related names amid concern that sticky inflation could keep rates higher for longer. Arun Singh, CEO of Indicus Capital, said the put/call move signals global momentum trading is cooling and that modest hedging is reasonable while rates and inflation expectations are being repriced.

CNN reports that since fighting involving Iran broke out on Feb. 28, Trump has made statements saying "a US-Iran deal is imminent" more than 30 times across social media, public appearances and telephone interviews with reporters.