Stocks fall further as oil spike fans fresh inflation worries
Anxiety returned as figures showed Tehran had increased strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Houthis rebutted claims they had lost key territory and top oil officials warned that global reserves were running worryingly low.
Oil prices surged, sparking fresh worries about inflation on Thursday. The rise in crude followed reports that Donald Trump was considering additional strikes against Iran, amid fears Tehran had ramped up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The Atlantic claimed the White House had asked the Pentagon to devise options for targeting sites in Iran ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.
Global oil supplies were further strained by the loss of more than 500,000 barrels from Gulf of Mexico production due to Tropical Storm Isaias. The spike in oil prices reignited inflation concerns, pushing government bond yields to multi-year highs. Wall Street indices, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, fell for the third day in a row.
Wall Street's decline extended to Asia, where Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, and Manila all saw declines. Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve officials anticipated further interest rate hikes before the year's end, with several participants believing the previous policy rate was not stringent enough.
Tech firms were under scrutiny as investors questioned their profitability and high valuations amid significant investments in the AI sector.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
