The latest Market Talks covering FX and Fixed Income. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

0958 ET - Bitcoin falls to a seven-week low after Iran's state media reported that the country is halting talks with the U.S. Iran's Tasnim news agency said Iran would cut talks through mediators in protest against Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Bitcoin is also dented by news that Strategy sold the cryptocurrency last week for the second time ever. Strategy sold 32 coins for $2.5 million at an average of $77,135 each between May 26 and May 31, according to a Monday filing. Bitcoin falls to as low as $71,495, LSEG data show.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0943 ET - The Iran war looks set to remain a drag on the Japanese yen in coming months, Commerzbank's Volkmar Baur says as the yen falls to a one-month low against the dollar. Prices for fossil fuels could stay elevated, weighing on the Japanese economy's foreign trade balance, he says in a note. Furthermore, interest-rate differentials have moved against the yen as markets bet on the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank raising interest rates. "However, once the Iran conflict is resolved, the outlook for a stronger yen remains favorable," Baur says. The dollar rises to as high as 159.69 yen and Commerzbank expects it to reach 150 by December this year and 143 by December 2027. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0927 ET - An SEC filing from Strategy showing that the company sold 32 BTC last month is pressuring major cryptocurrencies. "Momentum is not on Bitcoin's side this week," says Nic Puckrin of Coin Bureau in a note. Even though the equities markets continue to be buoyed by strength in AI, that momentum is skipping most of the crypto space, Puckrin says. "This means Bitcoin is being driven more by crypto-specific sentiment, and this is close to rock bottom right now." The upcoming IPO from SpaceX isn't likely to help turn BTC around, he adds. Bitcoin is down 2.3% to $71,992, ethereum falls 1.1% to $1,983, XRP is down 2.3% to $1.30, and solana falls 1.7% to $80.52. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0855 ET - Forward rates suggest that yields on U.K. government bonds, or gilts, could remain elevated and even rise further in the years ahead, UBS economist Dean Turner says in a note. Higher yields mean higher debt servicing costs and "can quickly become a headache," he says. Turner notes that the U.K. has a debt stock of above 90% of GDP and a stubbornly wide government deficit. However, looking at the global picture, the U.K. is "neither in the best nor the worst position when it comes to the sustainability of public finances." The 10-year gilt yield is last up 2 basis points at 4.826%, Tradeweb data show. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

0856 ET - Sterling could fall if potential U.K. Labour leadership challenger Andy Burnham secures a victory in an upcoming special election, Ebury economist Enrique Diaz-Alvarez says in a note. Burnham recently affirmed his commitment to the U.K.'s fiscal rules. However, the June 18 election Burnham must win to formally challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership remains key for sterling, Diaz-Alvarez says.A victory for Burnham would "open up some downside" for sterling as his preference for greater fiscal expansion would likely entail higher issuance of U.K. government bonds, he says. Sterling trades flat at $1.3464. The euro falls 0.2% to 0.8647 pounds.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0843 ET - An end to the Iran war and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would allow the euro to recover against the dollar but gains are likely to be limited, Rabobank's Jane Foley says in a note. "While an October rate cut from the Federal Reserve should allow the euro to trend upwards in the second half, we don't expect the [euro versus the dollar] to gain significant upward traction in this period." The market is already well priced for two interest-rate rises by the European Central Bank in this period and eurozone growth headwinds mean the euro could struggle to reach $1.20 this year, she says. The euro falls 0.1% to $1.1646. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0841 ET - Bond markets are quiet as talks to reopen Hormuz continue even as the U.S. and Iran keep trading blows. The week brings a slew of labor data, starting with the JOLTS report tomorrow. The ADP report Wednesday is expected to show an increase in private-sector hiring, according to a WSJ consensus. Payrolls, on Friday, are forecast to slow down, with unemployment steady at 4.3%. WTI crude rises 3%, back at $90. The WSJ Dollar Index rises 0.1%. The 10-year yield is at 4.453%, little changed from Friday's 4.452%. The two-year rises to 4.033% from 4.013%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

0836 ET - It would be irresponsible to call a recession for Canada as it stands, and doing so risks causing one, suggests Scotiabank's Derek Holt. First up, the economist says a 0.1% annualized contraction in 1Q after a 1% retreat in GDP the quarter before would rank among the wimpiest recessions on record. Added to that, he says there would normally be an extended period of decline in readings like jobs and industrial output before a recession is declared, which hasn't been the case at this point. Holt also says there are reasons in the latest GDP data arguing against this being a recession. This includes strong 1Q gold imports, which are volatile and excluding which imports were up by less than half the reported pace. As well. he says consumer spending continues to expand. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)

0758 ET - The dollar appears suspended between optimism and skepticism regarding a possible peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, Rabobank's Jane Foley says in a note. "Since the end of March, investors appear to have traded the market with the view that the worst-case scenario is unlikely to happen." However, the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the greater the economic damage and optimism for a deal will run dry eventually, she says. The market is growing more impatient for concrete news about a deal, she says. Without an end to the war, the euro versus the dollar will struggle to recover meaningfully, she says. The euro falls 0.1% to $1.1644. The DXY dollar index rises 0.2% to 99.078. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0742 ET - Bitcoin is under pressure as the U.S. seizure of Iranian cryptocurrency holdings hits sentiment, IG's Chris Beauchamp says in a note. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the U.S. had seized about $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets as part of efforts to squeeze Iran's revenue streams under the Operation Economic Fury campaign. "In a world where cryptocurrencies struggle to hold the attention they once did, such news is hardly helpful," Beauchamp says. Another threat to bitcoin is if the recent artificial-intelligence-fueled rally in U.S. stocks reverses given the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and crude inventory draws, he says. Bitcoin falls 1.4% to $72,607, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0717 ET - The cost of insuring euro-denominated credit against default stays steady amid uncertainty about the Middle East peace process. Oil prices rise following exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend. These undermine hopes of a peace deal, although investors remain broadly optimistic. "It appears that investors remain hopeful that a ceasefire extension can be finalised," says Trade Nation's David Morrison in a note. The iTraxx Europe Crossover index, which tracks euro high-yield credit default swaps, continues to trade at 259 basis points, staying at Friday's three-month low, S&P Global Market Intelligence data show. The iTraxx Europe Main index, which tracks euro investment-grade CDS, is steady at 53 basis points. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

0713 ET - Candriam remains positive on 10-year German Bunds but is more cautious on some other eurozone bonds, Nicolas Jullien says in a note. "We maintain a modest positive bias on euro duration via the 10-year segment," the global head of fixed income says. Fair value, sentiment, flows and technical factors are supportive, although none argue for an aggressive position, he says. However, Candriam is neutral on Spain, Italy and France and underweight on Belgium. The 10-year Bund yield has mostly traded in a 2.90%-3.10% range since mid-March and the upper end of this offers better value than the spread risk in peripheral markets, Jullien says. The 10-year Bund yield rises 5.6 basis points to 2.984%, according to Tradeweb. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2026 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

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