U.S. Treasury yields were little changed in early Thursday trading as markets weighed the latest inflation figures and escalating Middle East tensions. The 10-year yield stood at 4.5384% and the 2-year was flat at 4.1288%, while traders looked ahead to U.S. producer price data expected to rise 0.7% month on month in May. Oil prices turned lower, with WTI down 0.9% to $89.24 and Brent slipping more than 1% to $92.14.

Several firms have recently moved parts of their operations from Singapore to Malaysia, citing lower overheads, tax incentives and room to expand. H&M said in May it will move its Southeast Asia HQ to Kuala Lumpur, affecting 78 roles, while Gardenia said on May 20 it will cut 141 jobs in Singapore as production shifts to Malaysia. Commentators said many businesses are relocating select functions rather than fully exiting Singapore, where higher-value roles often remain.

The 2026 World Cup begins Thursday in Mexico City and runs through mid-July, but early indicators suggest the tourism upside for U.S. businesses will vary by city and by match. Sojern’s booking data shows year-over-year flight gains in places like Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and New York, while Seattle is tracking lower than last year. FIFA has projected up to $17.2 billion in U.S. GDP impact, though Deutsche Bank said the net lift could be limited given the size of the U.S. economy.

Amazon said it will make its less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping service available to all businesses and deliver to any U.S. destination under its Amazon Supply Chain Services program. The move triggered a selloff in freight stocks on Wednesday, with Old Dominion down more than 6%, ArcBest off 4%, Saia and XPO each sliding 5%, and FedEx Freight falling about 3%.

After Tuesday's whipsaw session and the worst U.S. stock-market day in a year, traders are looking to Wednesday's morning CPI release and Oracle's post-close earnings as key tests. Options activity skewed bullish in rate-sensitive areas, with heavy call buying in homebuilder ETFs XHB and ITB and in the regional bank fund KRE, while Oracle options implied a 12% move into results.

U.S. May CPI data is scheduled for release Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, with Wall Street expecting a 0.5% monthly increase and 4.2% year-over-year inflation. Core CPI is projected at 2.9% annually after a 0.3% May rise, as concerns build that higher oil prices are feeding through the broader economy.

Apple shares fell 3% on Tuesday, one day after the company introduced Apple Intelligence and an LLM-based Siri AI at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Analysts generally welcomed the Siri upgrades, but some said the announcements lacked major surprises and may not lift the stock near term, as Apple did not provide a firm release date for Siri AI.

At IATA’s annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro, airline CEOs focused on surging fuel costs, weakening profitability and reliability problems in new-generation engines. Executives said booking demand has largely held up even as fares rise, while aircraft orders continue because delivery slots for popular models remain scarce.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed Section 301 tariffs of up to 12.5% on 59 countries and the European Union, arguing that trading partners have failed to curb imports made with forced labor. International Labour Organization estimates put forced-labor victims at 27.6 million people daily and illegal profits at about $236 billion annually. Trade and legal experts said the investigation moved unusually fast for such a complex topic and could face court challenges, while the U.S. has also struggled with enforcement.