{"id":62695,"date":"2026-06-04T02:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-retreat-as-tech-sell-off-hits-softbank-china-oil-demand-plunges\/62695\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T02:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:38:14","slug":"global-markets-retreat-as-tech-sell-off-hits-softbank-china-oil-demand-plunges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-retreat-as-tech-sell-off-hits-softbank-china-oil-demand-plunges\/62695\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Retreat as Tech Sell-Off Hits Softbank; China Oil Demand Plunges"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Softbank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>) shares plummeted 10%<\/strong>, spearheading a broader technology sector sell-off that dampened sentiment across Asia-Pacific markets.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China\u2019s oil imports crashed to approximately 6.6 million barrels per day (b\/d) in May<\/strong>, representing a massive <strong>38% decline<\/strong> compared to the 2025 average.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sweden\u2019s inflation data surprised to the upside<\/strong>, with May CPI rising <strong>0.8% Y\/Y<\/strong> against estimates of 0.5%, while <strong>Switzerland reported cooler-than-expected inflation<\/strong> at 0.6%.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>) and Foxconn (<a href=\"\/stock\/HNHPF\">HNHPF<\/a>) announced a strategic partnership<\/strong> to co-develop AI infrastructure and advanced computing platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. President Trump signaled a potential deal with Iran<\/strong> could be reached as early as this weekend, causing <strong>Brent crude to slip 0.7%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tech Sector Under Pressure as Softbank Slides<\/h2>\n<p>Global equity markets faced significant headwinds on Thursday, led by a <strong>10% plunge in Softbank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>) shares<\/strong>. The decline triggered a wider tech rout, weighing heavily on the <strong>ASX 200, which closed down 1.1% at 8,686.10 points<\/strong>. <em>Investors appear to be recalibrating exposure to high-growth tech stocks amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In a notable bright spot for the sector, Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>) and Foxconn (<a href=\"\/stock\/HNHPF\">HNHPF<\/a>)\u2014formally known as Hon Hai Technology\u2014revealed a <strong>strategic collaboration to develop AI infrastructure<\/strong>. The partnership aims to build next-generation computing platforms to meet the surging demand for artificial intelligence. <em>This move highlights the ongoing race among hardware giants to secure a dominant position in the AI supply chain.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Divergent Inflation Trends in Europe<\/h2>\n<p>Economic data from Europe presented a mixed picture for central bankers. <strong>Sweden\u2019s May CPI came in at 0.8% Y\/Y<\/strong>, significantly higher than the <strong>0.5% forecast<\/strong> and a sharp reversal from the previous month&#39;s -0.1%. The <strong>CPIF, which excludes interest rate changes, hit 1.5%<\/strong>, suggesting that price pressures in the Swedish economy remain stickier than anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, <strong>Switzerland\u2019s April CPI remained steady at 0.6% Y\/Y<\/strong>, missing the <strong>0.7% consensus estimate<\/strong>. The monthly figure rose just <strong>0.2%<\/strong>, trailing expectations of 0.3%. <em>These diverging paths suggest that while some European nations are nearing price stability, others may face a more prolonged battle against inflation, potentially complicating future rate decisions by the Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Geopolitical Developments<\/h2>\n<p>The energy sector is reacting to a dramatic slowdown in Chinese demand, with <strong>oil imports falling to 6.6 million b\/d<\/strong>. This <strong>38% drop from the 2025 average<\/strong> is being cited as one of the most critical stories in global markets, reflecting a significant cooling in the world\u2019s second-largest economy. <em>The sharp decline in Chinese consumption is providing a bearish backdrop for global crude prices.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Adding to the downward pressure on energy, <strong>Brent crude for August delivery fell 0.7%<\/strong> following comments from U.S. President Trump regarding Iran. Trump noted that <strong>negotiations are &quot;going well&quot;<\/strong> and suggested a deal could be finalized within days or weeks. However, geopolitical tensions remain high elsewhere, as <strong>Israeli strikes were reported in Lebanon<\/strong> shortly after a conditional truce announcement, and <strong>Ukraine reported processing 35 million tons of cargo<\/strong> through sea ports despite ongoing Russian drone attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Softbank (SFTBY) shares plummeted 10%, spearheading a broader technology sector sell-off that dampened sentiment across Asia-Pacific markets. China\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[4223,4461,4824,6689,16266],"class_list":["post-62695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-inflation","tag-crude-oil","tag-geopolitics","tag-intel-intc-stock-intc","tag-softbank-sftby-stock-sftby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}