A US-Iran agreement reopening the Strait of Hormuz has increased Middle East supply, and Brent's near-month spread has flipped into contango for the first time since February — the front-month now trades below the next-month contract. Contango typically signals expected supply surplus; the move coincides with falling physical crude premia and similar weakness in the Dubai market. Earlier today Brent dipped below $75/bbl for the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war.

BofA Global Research raised its year‑end targets for Japanese equities, flagging stronger‑than‑expected AI demand, a higher probability the Strait of Hormuz stays open and improving corporate ROE. It lifted its Nikkei 225 year‑end target to 76,000 from 67,000 and its TOPIX target to 4,400 from 4,200. BofA said ROE gains to date were mainly driven by margin improvement, but as the manufacturing cycle recovers leverage expansion is likely to become the new driver.

港股港口運輸股盤初衝高，中遠海能(01138.HK)漲超6%，天津港發展(03382.HK)漲超5%，東方海外國際(00316.HK)、中遠海控(01919.HK)跟漲。