{"id":64923,"date":"2026-07-16T21:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T01:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-accuses-china-of-massive-election-interference-as-middle-east-tensions-send-oil-surging\/64923\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T01:38:10","slug":"trump-accuses-china-of-massive-election-interference-as-middle-east-tensions-send-oil-surging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-accuses-china-of-massive-election-interference-as-middle-east-tensions-send-oil-surging\/64923\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Accuses China of Massive Election Interference as Middle East Tensions Send Oil Surging"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>President Trump alleges China executed the largest election data breach in history<\/strong>, claiming 220 million voter records were compromised across 18 states.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a> surged above $80 per barrel<\/strong> following reports of explosions in Qatar and a U.S. military strike on a critical rail junction in Iran.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China\u2019s Commerce Ministry &quot;firmly rejects&quot; the UK\u2019s nationalization of British Steel<\/strong>, accusing the British government of unfairly targeting the Jingye Group.<\/li>\n<li><strong>TSMC (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSM\">TSM<\/a>) shares fell 3.8% in early trade<\/strong>, dragging Taiwan equities down over 2.7% following the company&#39;s second-quarter earnings report.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Databricks is reportedly seeking a $188 billion valuation<\/strong> in a new funding round led by Coatue, representing a 40% jump fueled by the AI boom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a late-night national address, <strong>President Trump<\/strong> leveled explosive allegations against Beijing, claiming that the <strong>People&#39;s Republic of China<\/strong> orchestrated a massive operation to interfere with U.S. elections. The White House alleges that a dedicated Chinese unit exploited data from <strong>220 million U.S. voter records<\/strong>, with activity reportedly dating back to the 2020 cycle. Trump has ordered the <strong>immediate declassification<\/strong> of intelligence related to these findings and directed the FBI and DNI to launch a full-scale investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The President also called on Congress to pass the <strong>Voter ID Save America Act<\/strong> and announced new measures to secure voter information. During the address, Trump claimed the U.S. is &quot;winning big&quot; in its confrontation with Iran, while simultaneously threatening to <strong>revoke the licenses<\/strong> of television channels that declined to broadcast his speech.<\/p>\n<p>Global energy markets reacted sharply to escalating hostilities in the Middle East. <strong>U.S. oil futures climbed above $80 per barrel<\/strong> after Qatar\u2019s military reported thwarting a missile strike following reports of explosions. Tensions were further inflamed by reports from Iran&#39;s IRNA that the <strong>United States carried out a strike on the Bandar Abbas rail junction<\/strong> early Friday. <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> advanced by more than $1 as investors priced in a significant increase in geopolitical risk.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>TSMC (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSM\">TSM<\/a>)<\/strong> saw its shares tumble <strong>3.8%<\/strong> in early Taiwan trading. The selloff came as investors reacted to the semiconductor giant&#39;s Q2 results, triggering a broader <strong>2.7% decline<\/strong> in Taiwan equities. Conversely, the private markets remain bullish on AI infrastructure, with <strong>Databricks<\/strong> reportedly nearing a new investment from Coatue that would value the data-analytics firm at <strong>$188 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Trade tensions are also simmering between Beijing and London. China\u2019s Commerce Ministry issued a sharp rebuke of the UK government\u2019s plan to take <strong>British Steel<\/strong> into state ownership, claiming the move unfairly targets the Chinese firm <strong>Jingye<\/strong>. Beijing has called on the UK to uphold the <strong>China-UK investment treaty<\/strong> and pledged to support affected Chinese enterprises in pursuing legal remedies.<\/p>\n<p>Currency and debt markets showed signs of volatility amid the news flow. The <strong>People&#39;s Bank of China<\/strong> set the yuan reference rate weaker at <strong>6.7934<\/strong>, while the currency opened at <strong>6.7760 per dollar<\/strong>. In Japan, the <strong>30-year government bond yield<\/strong> slipped to <strong>3.820%<\/strong> as the equity market selloff drove investors toward the safety of sovereign debt. Meanwhile, the <strong>U.S. dollar<\/strong> is heading toward a weekly loss as traders scale back expectations for further interest rate hikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways President Trump alleges China executed the largest election data breach in history, claiming 220 million voter records were 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