Stocks Fall as US-Iran Standoff Boosts Oil, Yields: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A standoff between the US and Iran over key issues lifted oil prices, dragging down stocks and bonds on concern that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could worsen energy disruptions and fuel inflation.
While Tehran said the latest proposal from Washington has partly bridged the gap between the two sides, a news report that Iran plans to keep its uranium was seen as a potential setback for any peace deal. The S&P 500 erased this week’s gain. US crude topped $102, driving Treasury yields higher on worries that price pressures will force the Federal Reserve to raise rates.
In the latest sign of how the war is impacting companies, Walmart Inc. warned that fuel costs are squeezing its bottom line and could lead to higher prices for shoppers. A solid outlook from Nvidia Corp. failed to impress investors. The Trump administration has agreed to award $1 billion to International Business Machines Corp. to build a foundry for producing quantum-computing chips.
Tehran is in the process of responding to a text submitted by the US, which “has narrowed the gaps to some extent,” Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. Key sticking points between the sides include Iran’s nuclear enrichment and its stocks of highly-processed uranium. The US is demanding Tehran hands over the latter, due to fears Tehran may use it to build an atomic bomb.
But a Reuters report on Thursday said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad.
Corporate Highlights:
SpaceX filed publicly for what stands to be the largest-ever initial public offering, revealing billions in losses and a super-voting share plan allowing Elon Musk to keep the company under his control. Anthropic PBC is in talks to rent Microsoft Corp. AI server chips, the Information reported, as the startup seeks to boost computing power and meet demand for its services. Ralph Lauren Corp. reported revenue and profit that beat analyst expectations, demonstrating the high-end apparel company’s momentum with consumers in the face of ongoing tariff uncertainty. Deere & Co.’s farm machinery sales stayed sluggish in North America, raising questions on when the agriculture economy will start getting better. Nearly half of patients who got a high dose of Eli Lilly & Co.’s next-generation obesity shot lost the equivalent weight of bariatric surgery, further evidence that the treatment could be the company’s most potent weight-loss medicine yet. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 9:49 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.1% The MSCI World Index fell 0.4% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1584 The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3397 The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 159.31 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $76,710.71 Ether fell 1.2% to $2,108.12 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.63% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 3.11% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.97% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4% to $102.18 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.9% to $4,501.71 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
