Nikkei slips on yen intervention fears as Kospi wobbles, Kosdaq surgesJapan's Kiuchi declines to name FX level, watching impact closelyTelegram delisting from App Store hits crypto traders, GRAM slidesAustralia household spending beats, up 0.8% in June (expected +0.2%, prior +1.3%)UBS: earnings strength and gradual Hormuz recovery support equitiesIn the news again - South Korea eyes curbs on leveraged ETFs as investor losses mountPBOC sets USD/ CNY central rate at 6.7917 (vs. estimate at 6.7595)Brent, WTI recover modestly after 7% plunge, Hormuz attacks ongoingMore info on this - South Korea core inflation hits 2-1/2 year high despite headline coolingUKMTO reports vessel hit near Hormuz as Iran strike reports emergeSouth Korea core CPI (July) shows biggest annual rise since December 2023Amazon Chair Jeff Bezos has sold $4.07 billion worth of his AMZN sharesPalantir revenue jumps 93% as Karp hails "otherworldly" quarter, raises guidanceICYMI - HSBC stays bullish on US stocks, calls chip selloff rotation not capitulationICYMI: Federal Reserve Chair Warsh weighs cutting Fed meetings, biggest policy shake-up in decadesTakaichi-backed tax cut plan raises fresh fiscal questions for yenHSBC: dollar set to grind higher on rate differentials, resilient economyIran warns of serious risk, casualties for US forces over Hormuz blockadeinvestingLive Americas FX news wrap 3 Aug: Risk-On Returns to Wall StreetOil recap: crude slides as Trump holds off Iran strikes, OPEC+ hike stuck at chokepointsDeutsche Bank sees gold's correction as largely done, holds US$4600 Q4 targetA great start for US stocks to the month of August. Summary:A senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader warned American vessels and forces face serious risk if the Hormuz blockade continues, and ruled out any second shipping corridor through the Strait.Unconfirmed Iranian media reports pointed to attacks on US bases in Kuwait, while Iran's foreign minister was reported to have arrived in Iraq.UKMTO reported a cargo vessel hit by an unknown projectile near Al Khasab, Oman, later identified as a missile that disabled the vessel's engine room; an outlet close to Iran's security council also reported an F-35B crash, unconfirmed elsewhere.Oil prices firmed modestly on the fresh escalation.Japan's ruling party backed cutting the food consumption tax from 8% to 1% for two years, adding to fiscal pressure on the yen; USD/JPY rose to highs around 157.70.Australian household spending beat forecasts in June, reinforcing expectations the RBA holds rates next week; AUD/USD outperformed.Asia-Pacific stocks opened higher on Wall Street's lead, with Kospi up as much as 2% and Nikkei up 0.3%, before Nikkei and Kospi softened; Kosdaq surged over 5% with a third consecutive buy-side trading curb, driven by heavy institutional buying.Telegram briefly disappeared from Apple's App Store worldwide before being reinstated.Amazon Chair Jeff Bezos sold $4.07 billion of AMZN shares; Palantir posted 93% revenue growth and raised full-year guidance on surging AI demand.Middle East tensions resurfaced on Monday, complicating the fragile optimism that had briefly lifted markets after Trump's weekend decision to hold off on fresh strikes against Iran. A senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader warned that American vessels and forces would face serious risk, including casualties, if the current blockade situation continues, and explicitly ruled out any second shipping corridor opening through the Strait of Hormuz. That rhetoric was accompanied by unconfirmed Iranian media reports of attacks on US bases in Kuwait, while Fox News reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi had arrived in Iraq, a development that could point toward regional diplomatic manoeuvring even as the security picture darkened.The most concrete escalation came via the UK Maritime Trade Operations body, which reported a cargo vessel had been hit by an unknown projectile roughly 20 nautical miles northeast of Al Khasab, Oman. That projectile was later identified as a missile, which disabled the vessel's engine room. Separately, Nour News, an outlet with ties to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reported the crash of an F-35B fighter jet, though this account saw no corroboration from other sources at the time of writing. Oil prices ticked modestly firmer in response to the fresh escalation, reversing a portion of Monday's steep selloff as the market once again priced in supply risk around the world's most critical chokepoint.Currency markets carried their own theme, with the yen extending its slide as Japan's fiscal position came back into focus. Nikkei media reported that the ruling party has backed cutting the food consumption tax from 8% to 1% for a two year period starting next April, alongside roughly ¥600 billion a year in cash transfers to households, with funding for the package still unspecified. That combination of tax cuts and spending commitments added to existing concerns over Japan's fiscal trajectory, helping push USD/JPY to session highs around 157.70. In contrast, the Australian dollar outperformed after data showed household spending climbed more than expected in June, reinforcing the picture of resilient consumer demand a week ahead of the Reserve Bank's policy meeting, where rates are widely expected to be left unchanged.Asia-Pacific equities began the session on a strong footing, drawing support from Wall Street, where the Dow notched a record close as lower oil prices and yields followed Trump's strike cancellation and talk of renewed US-Iran negotiations. South Korea's Kospi opened around 1.2% higher, with SK Hynix up more than 3% and Samsung Electronics gaining over 2%, before extending gains to as much as 2% intraday. Japan's Nikkei 225 opened a more modest 0.3% higher. Both indices lost momentum as the session progressed, with the Nikkei and Kospi softening from their early highs. The Kosdaq told a different story entirely, surging more than 5% as the Korea Exchange activated a buy-side-only trading curb at 10:47:51 KST, pausing programmatic trading. Institutions were heavy net buyers to the tune of KRW 354 billion, and this marked the third consecutive session the curb has been triggered, following activations at the end of last month and again the previous day.Elsewhere, Telegram briefly vanished from Apple's App Store worldwide without explanation, leaving existing installations functional but blocking new downloads and updates. The app was later reinstated, bringing a swift end to an episode that had initially raised concerns among crypto traders and community managers who rely heavily on the platform.In company news, Amazon Chair Jeff Bezos sold $4.07 billion worth of his shares in the company, a disposal that will likely draw scrutiny given its scale. Palantir Technologies, meanwhile, posted a standout quarter, with revenue up 93% year-over-year to around $1.9 billion and US commercial revenue surging 149%. The company raised its full-year guidance across revenue, operating income and free cash flow, citing surging demand tied to what it describes as the sovereign AI theme. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.