Stocks Churn as US Threats Against Iran Lift Crude: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks churned and bond yields ticked higher as US economic threats against Iran sparked a fresh advance in crude oil prices.
Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the US stocks benchmark closed at a new record on Thursday. Europe’s Stoxx 600 gauge also traded steady. US 10-year bond yields rose two basis points to 4.66%. Brent crude was up 1.6% at $88.46 a barrel.
Markets are ending the week on a muted note after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised unprecedented “economic isolation” for Iran and a “one-two punch” that includes the continued blockade of the country’s ports.
After an inflation print and producer price data that prompted investors to pare their bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes earlier in the week, US retail sales data will be in focus later Friday for more clues on policy ahead of next month’s meeting.
“This week’s optimism looks somewhat disconnected from reality,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote. “If the reason we see the market rally is that US inflation eased in July, optimism could fade away quickly.”
The latest concerns about the Middle East offset a comeback in the artificial intelligence trade that’s helped put the S&P 500 on track for its third weekly gain in a row.
Despite the softer inflation data this week, the US sold 30-year bonds at the highest yield in a quarter century on Thursday, underscoring the premium investors are demanding to finance the nation’s deficits.
What Bloomberg Strategists Say…
“Longer-dated Treasury yields have climbed this quarter, with the bulk of the increase having come from higher term premiums. That is the extra compensation investors demand for the risk of holding longer maturities as deficits spiral and inflation remains above target for more than five years now. ”
— Ven Ram, cross-asset strategist. For the full note, click here.
Tech Bounce
Technology stocks have rebounded after last month’s selloff, which was sparked by concerns the year’s hottest trade had run too far, too fast.
Robust earnings from several megacap companies eased some of those fears, drawing investors back to AI and pushing the Nasdaq 100 more than 1% higher Thursday to its highest since late June.
South Korea’s Kospi Index — a bellwether for AI investment — added over 2% Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 11% and snapping a seven-week losing streak. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. both advanced more than 15% over the past five days.
“A huge amount of hyperscaler money is flowing into hardware,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One. “That is translating into extremely strong sales and profit growth for hardware companies. Investors are returning to the idea of, ‘let’s look at the earnings themselves again.’”
Corporate Highlights:
OpenAI is on track to generate annualized revenue of more than $40 billion based on its current performance, according to people familiar with the matter, roughly doubling its run rate from the end of 2025 and bolstering the company’s plans for a Wall Street debut. Applied Materials Inc. delivered an estimate-beating forecast that still got a lukewarm reaction from investors, a sign of the lofty hopes surrounding a company that’s key to the AI boom. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. raised $4.75 billion in its biggest-ever US dollar bond offering, adding to a wave of debt tied to the AI boom. JD.com Inc. posted its first quarterly revenue decline since listing in 2014, in the latest sign of waning Chinese consumer sentiment. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 8:56 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1549 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 159.23 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7434 per dollar The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3511 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $62,934.96 Ether fell 0.6% to $1,873.45 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.66% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.16% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.98% Commodities
Brent crude rose 1.8% to $88.53 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,343.18 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Aya Wagatsuma, Momoka Yokoyama, Masaki Kondo and Anand Krishnamoorthy.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
