Oil traded steady above $100 a barrel on Thursday as the conflict in Iran showed no sign of abating, keeping a premium on crude and helping push U.S. diesel prices to a record above $6 a gallon. The energy squeeze added to a risk-off backdrop as the global bond selloff intensified.
The rout in sovereign debt has driven the U.S. 10‑year Treasury yield to about 4.94%, exacerbating pressure on rate‑sensitive assets and raising borrowing costs for corporates and households. Traders are increasingly focused on inflation data and central‑bank messaging for clues about the persistence of higher rates.
Economic news added to market unease. The French government revised down its 2026 growth forecast to 0.5% from 0.7%, complicating Paris’s fiscal calculations and increasing scrutiny of budget plans ahead of elections. Meanwhile, China’s Moonshot AI said it is targeting roughly $2 billion in revenue by year‑end, underscoring the fast‑moving commercialization of generative‑AI technologies and fueling investor interest in the sector.
Markets are pinning hopes on the U.S. Consumer Price Index due later today for a clearer signal on the direction of monetary policy as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet next week. A hotter reading would likely cement expectations for a longer period of elevated rates; a softer print could ease some of the recent repricing.
Regional equities offered a mixed picture. European stocks gained about 0.7%, finding some relief as energy exporters outperformed and investors digested the growth revisions. In Asia, both Chinese and Japanese markets slipped a little more than 0.5%, weighed by lingering growth concerns and the stronger yield backdrop. U.S. futures rose roughly 0.5% as investors positioned ahead of the CPI release.
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