Global stocks slip as Middle East tensions drive oil higher | News. az
Global markets came under renewed pressure on Monday as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, fueling inflation concerns, while investors also turned their attention to a busy week. . .
Global markets came under renewed pressure on Monday as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, fueling inflation concerns, while investors also turned their attention to a busy week of earnings from major technology companies that could test confidence in the artificial intelligence sector. Brent crude rose above $90 per barrel for the first time in more than a month after the U. S. military launched a ninth consecutive day of strikes against Iran,News. Azreports, citingReuters. Tehran responded by attacking targets across the region and claimed to have struck two vessels in theStrait of Hormuz, where only a limited number of ships reportedly transited on Sunday. Brent crude gained 2. 4% to $90. 18 per barrel, while U. S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2. 1% to $84. 18 per barrel. RECOMMENDED STORIESXi’s planned US visit remains on schedule, Rubio confirmsUS deploys more warplanes to Middle East: NYT10 injured in Arizona mass shootingSudan denounces latest US sanctions over chemical weapons claimsThe sharp increase in energy prices revived fears of rising inflation despite weaker-than-expected U. S. consumer price data released last week. Futures markets are now pricing in 29 basis points of Federal Reserve rate hikes by the end of the year. Market pricing also implies a 60% probability that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as early as September, pushing yields on 30-year U. S. Treasury bonds back above the key 5% threshold. Higher bond yields typically make fixed-income investments more attractive relative to equities and raise the valuation hurdle for corporate earnings. The latest market shift comes as investors are already questioning elevated valuations in semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 10% last week and is now down 20% from its record high reached in June. Sentiment weakened further on Friday after Chinese artificial intelligence company Moonshot unveiled its open-weight Kimi K3 model, which the company said delivers performance approaching Anthropic's flagship Fable model. The developments have increased the importance of this week's corporate earnings reports, with major technology companies including Alphabet, Intel and Tesla scheduled to release their quarterly results. Despite recent market volatility, Bank of America analyst Savita Subramanian remains optimistic about the earnings season, forecasting companies will outperform consensus estimates by around 5%, with overall earnings growth of 28%. She expects the technology sector to account for more than half of total earnings growth, while semiconductor companies are projected to post year-on-year growth of approximately 130%. Those expectations helped S&P 500 futures remain broadly unchanged, while Nasdaq futures edged up 0. 2%. In Europe, EURO STOXX 50 futures were little changed, while Germany's DAX futures and Britain's FTSE futures both slipped 0. 1%. Japan's Nikkei index was closed for a public holiday after falling 6. 4% last week during a technology-led sell-off. Elsewhere in Asia, MSCI's broad Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan declined 0. 3%, while Chinese blue-chip stocks advanced 1. 4%. South Korea's technology-heavy stock market fell another 4. 1% after plunging nearly 9% last week, as retail investors were forced to unwind leveraged positions amid heightened market volatility. News. AzBy Nijat Babayev