investingLive European markets wrap: Oil drops further, stocks down with eyes on big tech
Headlines:
- US futures marked lower after tumultuous Wall Street session yesterday
- EUR/USD is retesting a key zone amid US dollar weakness on peak hawkish repricing
- Iran says Strait of Hormuz shipping will be governed by terms of memorandum with Oman
- There’s still mud in the waters on how things are playing out with the Strait of Hormuz
- How have interest rate expectations changed after this week’s events?
- ECB survey shows inflation expectations dropping markedly and growth outlook improving
- Mild dollar buying expected this month-end – Credit Agricole
Markets:
- S&P 500 futures down 0.5%, Nasdaq futures down 1.2%
- European stocks drop, DAX down 1.2% and CAC 40 down 0.8%
- WTI crude down 3% to $69.70
- EUR leads, AUD lags on the day
- US 10-year yields down 1 bps to 4.38%
- Gold up 0.6% to $4,050
It was a more tentative session as markets are holding more mixed. While traders and investor remain calm on the US-Iran situation as reflected in oil prices, there is some nervousness and anxiety in equities after the AI push and pull yesterday.
Big tech is in focus after the selloff yesterday and that’s leading to a more sluggish mood with S&P 500 futures down 0.5% and Nasdaq futures down 1.2% on the day. All eyes will be on how Wall Street takes to that later today, with the reaction being one that could spill over to broader markets.
As we await further US-Iran developments, oil prices are down with WTI crude lower by 3% to $69.70. Technical talks on Iran’s nuclear/uranium will only begin next week but for now, traders are sensing some calm despite mixed signals from the Strait of Hormuz.
In other markets, the dollar is down slightly after the more solid gains this week. EUR/USD is back up by 0.3% to 1.1400 while USD/JPY is still just keeping thereabouts near the 2024 highs, down 0.1% today to 161.60 levels.
Meanwhile, precious metals are also seeing a slight bounce towards the final stretch of the week. Gold is up 0.6% to $4,050 with silver up 0.6% to $58.20 on the day.
There’s not much else to it as we also near month-end and quarter-end, with rebalancing flows perhaps a consideration before the weekend and/or early next week into the London fix.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.