International markets update:
Global markets faced significant headwinds as surging oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions reignited inflation concerns, leading to a broad market sell-off. Despite some stabilization in futures, major U.S. indices recorded their worst performance in a month, reflecting investor anxiety.
- Brent crude surged past $100 per barrel for the first time since May, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea following Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers.
- Inflation concerns intensified, prompting a significant sell-off in the bond market and pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level since January 2025.
- U.S. equities recorded their worst session in a month, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping sharply amid rising inflation risks and substantial tech sector spending.
- The European Central Bank held rates steady, yet market participants anticipate a September hike as President Lagarde warned of upside inflation risks from Middle East hostilities and oil prices.
- The Trump administration imposed new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, on various countries over alleged forced-labor violations, effective Friday.
- Major tech stocks showed mixed performance; Alphabet and Tesla initially fell on AI spending concerns, while Intel and Oracle rallied on strong results and new contracts, despite a “890 million EU fine for Google.
- A White House official accused Chinese AI company Moonshot of illicitly accessing Nvidia’s advanced chips, bypassing export controls to develop its new Kimi K3 large language model.
Stock Market News summarised for the Wall Street Investors Club community.