Headlines:
Iran official reportedly says Oman proposal on Strait of Hormuz has no chance of successYemen’s Houthis are considering fees for ships sailing through the Red Sea – ReutersIs the U.S. bull rally running out of steam?Fed preview: It’s all about the dissentersECB’s Patsalides: Rate hikes in ECB projections don’t obligate usGerman import prices fell in June due to drop in energy pricesUK mortgage approvals rebound in June but credit data continues to point to worrying signals
Markets:
WTI crude up 5% to $83.20, Brent crude up 5% to $88.40European equities mostly a touch lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%CAD and JPY lead, AUD lags on the day10-year Treasury yields up 2.6 bps to 4.63%Gold up 0.1% to $4,030Bitcoin up 1.0% to $64,487
It was a nervy session, not least after Asian stocks suffered another torrid day after yesterday’s bloodbath.
Things were looking bleak with the KOSPI dropping by roughly 13% at one point, before some late buying helped to see South Korea’s benchmark index halve that to close just 6% lower.
The rebound helped to at least preserve some calmer heads as we got into European trading, with more negative news arising from US-Iran developments. The latest being that Iran, as expected, rejecting Oman’s proposal on joint management of the Strait of Hormuz.
That sent oil prices higher with WTI crude up 5% to $83.20, helped by threats by the Houthis along the Red Sea too.
In the equities space, European stocks pared some early losses while US futures also rebounded from a struggling mood earlier in the day. Of note, S&P 500 futures are up 0.2% with Nasdaq futures up 0.3% now. However, all eyes turn to the Fed next before we deal with Microsoft and Meta earnings after the close.
In other markets, the US dollar is not doing all too much with major currencies mostly keeping little changed. The Australian dollar is the laggard after softer CPI data earlier more or less takes August off the table in terms of the next RBA rate hike. AUD/USD is down 0.4% to 0.6940 levels on the day.
Besides that, 10-year Treasury yields are moving back up by 2.6 bps to 4.63% while gold is also marginally higher by 0.1% to $4,030.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.