Stocks Fall as $100 Brent Sharpens Inflation Focus: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stock futures fell and Treasuries slipped in a market where inflation risks are the primary focus, with Brent crude topping $100 a barrel.

S&P 500 contracts slipped 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4% after erasing early gains, echoing a rally in Asian technology shares that lost momentum as the session progressed. In Europe, sectors sensitive to the economy dragged the Stoxx 600 down 1.4%.

Oil prices extended gains for a fourth day. In the latest escalation in the Middle East, US forces destroyed five Iranian tankers carrying crude in response to two attempts to hit a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles. Tehran responded by firing missiles at Jordan and warning ships in the Persian Gulf.

Ten-year Treasury yields advanced two basis points to 4.81%, hovering near a 2023 high. Traders are waiting for the Treasury Department to announce the size of Thursday’s buyback operation for outstanding 10-year and 20-year bonds, part of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to restrain US yields.

Brent reaching a threshold last crossed in July comes days ahead of the latest US inflation print. The data is widely seen as decisive in tipping the scales for or against a US interest-rate hike next week, with money markets pricing around a 60% chance of a move.

“The risks to equity markets continue to pile up as the discount rate which they face gets higher and higher and higher,” said Ashley Lester, chief research officer at MSCI. “The question is to what extent can continued AI earnings growth continue to push equity markets onward.”

A four-day rally in semiconductor stocks is set to end, with an exchange-traded fund tracking major chipmakers sliding more than 1% in US premarket trading. Apple Inc. was slipped 0.3% ahead of the unveiling of the foldable iPhone.

Worries over persistent price pressures, heavy government borrowing and a wave of corporate issuance have pushed global yields to multi-year highs in recent weeks. The US Treasury will offer $39 billion in 10-year notes Wednesday after selling $58 billion of three-year debt on Tuesday at the highest yield for an auction of that tenor since 2024.

“Oil prices at $100 per barrel put inflation pressures back into the spotlight,” said Joachim Klement at Panmure Liberum. “In this environment and in the absence of forward guidance by the Fed, the ECB’s decision and Christine Lagarde’s comments on Thursday will gain weight.”

In currency markets, the yen strengthened for a third day after Bessent challenged traders to test his resolve to boost Japan’s currency. The yen advanced 0.3% to 153.46 per dollar, while Bloomberg’s gauge of the greenback was little changed.

The risk of a pullback of as much as 10% in US stocks is rising as midterm elections approach and the market heads into a seasonally challenging stretch, according to RBC Capital Markets strategists.

The team led by Lori Calvasina noted that the S&P 500 has fallen in September in five of the past 10 years. The US midterm election cycle could add volatility to the artificial-intelligence trade as some backlash emerges as a campaign issue, while the Iran war continues to be another headwind, they added.

Corporate News:

Uber Technologies Inc. is looking to raise around €4 billion ($4.7 billion) from its debut five-part euro bond, the latest move by an American company to diversify its funding in Europe. Amazon.com Inc. kicked off the sale of its debut sterling bonds, with a four-part deal expected to be delivered later on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc.’s Google is planning its biggest investment in Europe, an artificial intelligence infrastructure build out worth at least €13 billion ($15.1 billion) in Finland. Inditex SA sales continued to grow at a strong clip at the start of the third quarter, signaling that the Zara owner is reeling in shoppers. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 7:13 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.4% The MSCI World Index fell 0.2% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1633 The British pound was little changed at $1.3539 The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 153.46 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $78,882.26 Ether rose 0.2% to $2,487.44 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.81% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.41% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 5.22% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $95.01 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,404.14 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Sujata Rao.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.