headline-driven session marked by a rebound in global equities. This follows a volatile risk-off period triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East—specifically a second consecutive day of U.S. airstrikes against Iranian targets aimed at securing the Strait of Hormuz.
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged due to financial and industrials drag, the technology-dense Nasdaq and broader S&P 500 pushed higher, powered by an aggressive global rally in semiconductor and artificial intelligence chips (notably led by Nvidia and SK Hynix).
Energy prices fluctuated heavily but eventually contained earlier gains. Fixed income markets remained highly sensitive after hawkish Federal Reserve minutes from June revealed that some policymakers considered further rate hikes to control inflation.
Global Assets & Commodity Wrap
- Global Stocks: Generally rebounded or stabilized globally as early geopolitical panic eased into a chip-driven tech rally.
- Global Bonds: Governed by macro pressures. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fluctuated marginally, sitting near 4.57% / 4.58%, while the 2-year yield remained elevated near 4.23% following hawkish Fed expectations.
- Global Oil: Volatile and see-sawing. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude erased early spikes from the Strait of Hormuz strikes, with Brent crude settling lower near $77.25 a barrel and WTI floating around $73.85 a barrel.
- Global Gold: Experienced a minor volatility jump, trading slightly softer or stabilizing just around $4,105.90 an ounce spot as it defended the key $4,100 psychological level.
- Global Silver: Mirroring gold’s volatility bid, trading softer but maintaining its range just below $60.00 an ounce.
- Global Crypto: The digital asset space remained broadly flat to slightly positive; Bitcoin traded at approximately $62,685 (up roughly 0.38%).
Regional Breakdown & Major Stock Indexes
North America
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA): Closed down at 52,348.39 (-1.09%), heavily weighed down by financials and non-tech blue chips.
- S&P 500 Index: Lifted by late-day momentum to 7,542.40 (+0.82%).
- NASDAQ Composite: Outperformed the major averages to finish near 25,870.65 (+0.20% to +1.38% intra-day tracking), driven by tech and semiconductors.
- Russell 2000: Small caps clawed back to settle at 2,996.80 (+1.37%).
- NYSE Composite: Stabilized mixed-to-positive, tracking broader value vs. tech trends.
- S&P/TSX Composite (Canada): Finished flat to marginally positive, digesting mixed commodity and energy signals.
- S&P/BMV IPC (Mexico): Traded mixed with moderate trading volumes following regional inflation data.
Europe
- Stoxx Europe 600 / EURO STOXX 50: Rebounded up 0.5% from the previous session’s steep selloff, shrugging off early risk-off vibes.
- FTSE 100 (UK): Trailed its continental peers, down roughly 0.1% to 10,474, severely dragged down by AstraZeneca tumbling over 7% due to a late-stage heart drug trial failure.
- DAX (Germany): Moved higher (+0.45%), supported by defense stock gains, such as Deutz AG’s €1.6 billion acquisition of military vehicle maker FFG.
- CAC 40 (France): Rebounded in green territory, tracing regional gains.
- AEX (Netherlands): Pushed higher, heavily insulated by its high concentration of semiconductor machinery listings.
- IBEX 35 (Spain): Posted modest positive gains as bank equities steadied.
- FTSE MIB (Italy): Closed green, recovering early morning losses.
- SMI (Switzerland): Remained steady with light defensive-stock backing.
- BEL 20 (Belgium): Modestly positive.
- ATX (Austria): Kept a steady pace inline with central European indices.
- OMXS30 (Sweden) & OMXC25 (Denmark): Both Nordic indices ticked higher on tech/industrial optimizations.
- WIG20 (Poland): Stood steady to mildly positive.
- MOEX Russia Index: Highly insulated; fluctuated narrowly on the heels of Russia’s recent diesel-export ban announcements.
Asia-Pacific
- Nikkei 225 (Japan): Strongly advanced 1.88%, capitalising on weaker regional currencies and technology exports.
- Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong): Edged marginally higher, struggling against local real estate headwinds but supported by broader regional tech flows.
- Shanghai Composite & SZSE Component (China): Lagged behind the broader Asian rally, closing relatively flat to lower on slower economic indicators.
- China A50: Moved sideways amid selective state-backed buying.
- Taiwan Weighted Index: Rallied strongly, benefiting directly from the global AI/chipmaker demand surge.
- KOSPI (South Korea): Emerged as the region’s top performer, jumping 2.88% to bounce out of a brief bear-market correction. This was supercharged by heavy institutional demand for memory-giant SK Hynix’s oversubscribed U.S. listing.
- NIFTY 50 & S&P BSE Sensex (India): Traded mixed to flat, supported by domestic inflows but capped by global rate worries.
- S&P/ASX 200 & All Ordinaries (Australia): Slipped 0.69%, bucking the Asian tech rally due to heavy resource and mining exposure sensitive to volatile commodity pricing.
- NZX 50 (New Zealand): Closed slightly lower.
- SET Index (Thailand): Steady to lower with muted tourism/consumer data.
- JKSE (Indonesia): Held minor gains on raw material expectations.
- FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI: Finished flat with quiet regional trading.
Middle East, Africa & Latin America
- Tadawul All Share Index (Saudi Arabia): Highly volatile; swung on shifting geopolitical news out of the Strait of Hormuz and OPEC+ production expectations before settling flat.
- TA-35 (Israel): Traded defensively under heightened regional risk metrics.
- BIST 100 (Turkey): Experienced volatile swings, tracking the local currency and regional energy constraints.
- Bovespa / Ibovespa (Brazil): Fared mixed, caught between sliding crude oil prices and fluctuating agricultural commodity outputs.
- S&P Merval (Argentina): Faced typical high inflation-adjusted volatility, closing mixed.
- S&P IPSA (Chile): Hovered in a tight range following regional copper export metrics.
