Stock losses deepened and bonds got sold off as Iran stepped up its attacks on the US and its allies in the Middle East, pushing oil prices higher and fueling inflation concerns. The dollar strengthened. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index tumbled as much as 2.8%, causing the worst two-day slump since April. South Korea’s Kospi Index — the world’s second-best-performing stock market this year — plunged as much as 6.8% as the country returned after a long weekend. Equity-index futures for the US and Europe dropped about 1%, signaling more losses are in store. Investors remained focused on oil with the commodity extending gains as the US and Israel stepped up their war against Iran, while Tehran threatened a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway for the movement of crude. Brent rose to $80 a barrel after spiking more than 7% on Monday. The rising oil prices stoked concerns about the outlook for global bonds, with traders from Sydney to Tokyo offloading government debt. Concerns about inflation prompted traders to pare back bets on interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with a first US cut fully priced in September and bets for a third reduction in 2026 fading. That shift came on top of richly valued stock markets already unsettled by the billions companies are spending on artificial intelligence and concerns over the technology’s disruptive impact. The critical question for markets is duration — whether this proves to be a brief spike in risk premium or a prolonged shock that starts to weigh on capex and hiring decisions, said Ana Isabel Gonzalez Encinas, group chief investment officer at Farringdon Asset Management. As US-Israeli strikes on Iran reverberated across the Middle East, President Donald Trump insisted there was no fixed timeline, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the idea of an “endless” war with Iran. Both refused to rule out putting American boots on the ground. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military.” The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it’s right now, he added. Meanwhile, two drones struck near the US Embassy in Riyadh, pulling Saudi Arabia into a widening conflict among Iran, the US and Israel, and prompting Trump to vow retaliation. Goldman Sachs’ Timothy Moe says a spike in oil prices due to the Iran conflict could impact corporate earnings in Asia. As investors pared risk, some haven assets drew fresh demand. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.2% to build on the 0.7% gain in the prior session. The Iran war is also rekindling inflation concerns across financial markets, sapping the outlook for global bonds that had just posted their best start to a year since the pandemic. Traders from Sydney to Tokyo have offloaded government debt since Monday as they game-plan how a prolonged conflict in the Middle East may ramp up oil and supercharge inflation. Those concerns are eroding the haven appeal of fixed-income assets, with government bonds from the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea all posting losses this week. US After Hours TREE +11.3%, PLUG +8.9%, LIF +8.7% higher on earnings; OBDC +1% ticks higher on insider purchase; MDB -24%, SGRY -22.4%, CRDO -7.5% lower on earnings
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Macro :
- Italy Feb. New Car Sales Rise 14.04% Y/y
- Oil Spike on Iran War Seen Boosting Canada’s Growth, Inflation
- OpenAI’s Sam Altman Says Pentagon Deal Looked ‘Sloppy’
- US Has No Immediate Plan to Tap Oil Reserve on Iran Concerns
- Bitcoin Advances Toward $70,000 as Market Volatility Increases
Keep an eye on :
- ALLFG NA :Allfunds Prelim FY Adjusted Ebitda Meets Estimates
- ALSN SW : Also Launches Buyback Program of up to €120 Million
- ARBN SW : Arbonia Sees 2026 Revenue +3% to +5%; Proposes Ganz as Chairman
- BEI GY : Beiersdorf FY Sales Meet Estimates
- BEI GY : Beiersdorf Launches €750 Million Share Buyback Program
- BEI GY : Beiersdorf Eyes US Premium Skincare Deals for Growth, CEO Says
- BWLPG NO : BW LPG 4Q EPS Beats Estimates
- CRTO US : Advertisers Will Soon Be Able to Buy ChatGPT Ads Through Criteo
- DOCN SW : Docmorris Says Feuerstein, Mielsch, Hu to Step Down From Board
- FAGR BB : Fagron NV: Fagron Closes Purchase of Vepakum
- KER FP : Kering Taps Former Deliveroo Exec as Chief Client Officer
- KER FP : Kering Taps Former Deliveroo Exec as Chief Client Officer
- KNIN SW : Kuehne + Nagel Sees 2026 Recurring Ebit CHF1.2B to CHF1.4B
- LTMC IM : Lottomatica Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebitda EU940M to EU980M
- NVDA US : Nvidia-backed ‘open’ AI start-up courts investors at $20bn-plus valuation
- ORSTED DC : Danish Right-Wing Parties Want to Sell Orsted After Vote: Finans
- OTOVO NO : Otovo Offering of 14m Shares Prices at NOK11.50/Share
- PSKY US : Paramount Deal Still Under US Review, With Challenge Unlikely
- QIA GY : Qiagen Working with Moelis, Goldman On Review, CEO Says
- MCRB US : Seres Names Board Member Kender Executive Chair, Interim CEO
- SIGN SW : SIG Group Sees 2026 Revenue in Constant Currency 0% to +2%
- S92 GY : SMA Solar Sees 2026 Ebitda EU50M to EU180M
- 9984 JP : SoftBank’s PayPay Is Said to Delay Start of US IPO Marketing
- SpaceX IPO : Musk’s xAI to Buy Back $3 Billion of Debt Early in Run-Up to IPO
- SpaceX IPO : SpaceX Aims to Launch Upgraded Starlink Satellites in Mid-2027
- SPIE FP : Spie to Buy ROFA Industrial Automation AG in Germany; No Terms
- HO FP : Thales Sees 2026 Organic Sales +6% to +7%, Est. +7.58%
- 6201 JP : Toyota Founding Family Is Biggest Winner in Unit Takeover Battle
- UCB BB : UCB Granted FDA Orphan Drug Status for Certolizumab pegol
- Utmost IPO : Oaktree Said to Select Banks to Help Arrange Utmost’s London IPO
- VACN SW : VAT Sees 1Q Sales of CHF240m to CHF260m
- VIV FP : Banijay, All3Media Could Reach Merger Deal This Week: Sky
- ZURN SW : Zurich Ins. Offering of $5 billion Prices at CHF550/Share