global financial markets experienced a distinct divergence across asset classes. A significant de-escalation of energy supply worries occurred as a tentative memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran led to the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, causing crude oil prices to plunge. This relief in energy costs pulled down sovereign bond yields globally, alleviating immediate inflation fears.
However, this macroeconomic shift triggered a massive realignment in hard and digital assets: a strengthening U.S. dollar and a hawkish Federal Reserve interest rate stance caused gold and silver prices to plummet to multi-month lows. In equity markets, regional performance varied wildly: traditional blue-chip stocks advanced as lower oil prices boosted industrial outlooks, while the global technology and semiconductor sector continued to suffer under intense valuation corrections linked to high artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.
North America
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA):
- Open: 51,660.75
- Close: 51,848.90 (+182.06 points, or +0.35%)
- Market Drivers: Shrugged off broader tech weakness to close higher, buoyed by declining energy costs and strong domestic manufacturing and services PMI data (reaching a five-month high at 52.2).
- NASDAQ Composite Index:
- Open: ~25,587.04 (Previous close)
- Close: 25,476.64 (-110.40 points, or -0.43%)
- Market Drivers: Fell for consecutive sessions due to an ongoing tech and semiconductor pull-back as investors heavily questioned the timeline of revenue generation from massive corporate AI capital expenditures.
Europe
- Germany (DAX 40 Index):
- Close: 24,968.00 (+0.30%)
- Market Drivers: Recorded a modest advance as relief from lower energy prices offset a highly disappointing German Flash PMI drop to 46.8. Gains were capped by weakness in heavy industrial and healthcare components like Bayer.
- Pan-European Region (STOXX 600): Closed moderately down across the broader continent, heavily dragged down by large European semiconductor equipment manufacturers (such as ASML) tracking global tech pressure.
Asia-Pacific
- Japan (Nikkei 225 Index):
- Open: ~69,600
- Close: 69,384.00 (-405 points, or -0.58%)
- Market Drivers: Continued its correction from record highs above 72,800 achieved earlier in the week. Major semiconductor supply chain stocks like Tokyo Electron (-4.2%) led the downward pressure, though consumer and retail shares provided a partial cushion.
- South Korea (KOSPI Index): Extracted severe shockwaves across Asia, heavily down as major memory-chip producers dipped significantly amid corporate strategic shifts back to high-margin traditional DRAM production.
Global Bond Markets
- United States: The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 4.41%. Yields eased as the sharp drop in crude oil prices diminished medium-term consumer inflation expectations, despite the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates high at 3.50%–3.75%.
- Europe: German Bund yields moved lower in tandem with weak regional Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data, confirming slower economic expansion and signaling less aggressive tightening ahead from the ECB.
Global Commodities
Global Oil
- Brent Crude Futures: Closed down 3.8% to $73.87 per barrel, touching near four-month lows.
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI): Slipped to $73.13 per barrel (intraday low of $72.48).
- Market Drivers: Easing of severe geopolitical risk premiums. Shipping tracking confirmed that limited commercial maritime supertanker transits have resumed through the critical Strait of Hormuz following structural breakthroughs in diplomatic talks.
Global Gold
- Spot Gold: Fell 2.73% to close near $3,998.00 per ounce (with futures settling near $4,016.00).
- Market Drivers: Hitting its weakest price level since November 2025. Gold lost its primary near-term safe-haven premium as Middle Eastern transport lines cleared, while being further battered by a strengthening U.S. Dollar.
Global Silver
- Spot Silver: Suffered the sharpest hit among hard commodities, losing 6.50% to close near $57.47 per ounce.
- Market Drivers: Suffered from an unwinding of speculative positions alongside gold, amplified by interest-rate-sensitive corrections hitting non-yielding physical precious metals.
Global Crypto Market
- Bitcoin (BTC): Broke critical support thresholds to drop below $60,000.
- Market Drivers: Experienced a wave of automated futures liquidations. Digital currencies traded in tight lockstep with other hard, non-yielding macroeconomic assets like gold and silver, acutely pressured by the lack of near-term Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2026.
