Stocks and Treasuries Decline as Brent Tops $102: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A global stock rally that brought equities within striking distance of an all-time high lost further ground as oil jumped on renewed Middle East tensions, stoking concerns about inflation. Treasuries declined.
The MSCI All Country World Index — a key barometer of global stocks — fell 0.2%, pulling further away from its record high after coming within 1.5% of the peak earlier this week. Wall Street benchmarks slipped Wednesday, a day after closing at records, and Asian shares followed them lower with a 1% decline.
Global benchmark Brent rose 2% to climb above $102 a barrel. The advance pressured Treasuries, pushing up the benchmark 10-year yield by two basis points to 5.31%, approaching levels last seen in 2002.
Oil rose after a report that the White House asked the Pentagon to draw up strike options against Iran that could be executed before the midterm elections, and as a storm shut some US output. Iran-backed Houthis struck two airports in Saudi Arabia, killing three people as the group intensified its attacks on the kingdom, while also fighting Riyadh-backed forces in Yemen.
Higher oil prices are complicating the outlook by adding to inflation pressures after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last month, a move officials unanimously backed. US stocks had largely shrugged off higher rates and elevated oil prices to reach records, but the earnings season starting next week will test whether billions of dollars poured into the artificial intelligence buildout can deliver commensurate returns.
“Another rate hike is probably coming this year because current policy isn’t very restrictive,” said David Russell at TradeStation. “With inflation above target and most measures of economic activity strong, price stability is the Fed’s dominant mandate.”
All 19 Fed officials backed last month’s decision to raise the target range for the benchmark rate by a quarter point, the first increase since July 2023. The move came as policymakers saw signs of renewed strength in the economy.
What Bloomberg’s Strategists Say…
“There is a worsening of the mood in Asia as Brent contracts climb above $102 per barrel, which is spilling over to weaken Treasury futures. If that develops into a negative impulse for French OATs it could become a messy session once European traders are fully online.”
— Mark Cranfield, MLive Strategist. Click here for the full analysis.
Elsewhere, Samsung Electronics Co. shares fell 1.3% as the company’s record profit was still short of average analyst estimates. Japanese equities were down for a second day as changes to TOPIX weightings prompted selling in stocks set to see their index presence reduced.
A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar held its gains from Wednesday’s session, when it rose 0.3%.
“Dollar bulls are likely to need a fresh catalyst to push the dollar to test the June highs,” said Sean Callow, a senior analyst at ITC Markets in Sydney.
Shipping costs have surged alongside oil prices as geopolitical tensions disrupt energy markets. Rates for hiring supertankers to transport oil hit a fresh high, adding sharply to costs across the petroleum supply chain.
Meanwhile, the euro steadied against the dollar as traders monitored France’s fiscal strains, which threaten to pull the European Central Bank into its sharpest confrontation with markets since the euro-area debt crisis. France’s finance ministry said it isn’t changing its bond-issuance strategy.
The market will keep pushing French spreads wider until it meets an official response strong enough to turn the tide, said Sean Keane, chief strategist for Asia Pacific at JB Drax Honore. That will require cooperation from Berlin as well as Brussels, he said.
“France is now on everyone’s screen and Europe is widely viewed as having a set of intractable problems that it doesn’t have the institutional will or collective capability to address,” Keane said.
Corporate Highlights:
SK Hynix Inc.’s Solidigm has picked lead banks for its US initial public offering next year, according to people familiar with the matter. Australian data center company Firmus Grid Ltd. closed the books on its struggling initial public offering as investors grew increasingly concerned that the deal could be pulled, according to people familiar with the information. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 1:50 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix fell 1.2% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1205 The Japanese yen was little changed at 158.22 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7030 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1% to $82,553.13 Ether fell 0.5% to $2,560.02 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 5.31% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 2.5 basis points to 3.080% Australia’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 5.39% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $89.85 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,134.43 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Ruth Carson and Matthew Burgess.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
