US Tech Stocks Drop – Nasdaq down 0.7%
US equity markets finished mixed overnight, with technology stocks leading the declines as renewed AI-related concerns combined with a disappointing earnings result from Microsoft weighed on sentiment. The Nasdaq slid 0.72% to 23,685, while the broader market proved more resilient. The S&P 500 edged 0.13% lower to 6,696, and the Dow Jones managed a modest gain of 0.11% to close at 49,071. The US dollar softened again, with the dollar index falling 0.30% to 96.16, while US Treasury yields drifted lower across the curve. The 2-year yield slipped 1.2 basis points to 3.559%, and the 10-year yield also eased 1.2 basis points to 4.231%. Commodities once again dominated the day. Oil prices surged sharply on rising fears of a potential US strike on Iran, with Brent crude jumping 3.23% to $70.61 a barrel and WTI climbing 3.42% to $65.37. Precious metals were equally volatile, with Gold pushing to another fresh record up at $5,594.82 before fading late in the session to ultimately finish 0.10% lower at $5,393.99.
Oil remains in focus for Traders
Oil markets remain volatile and strategically sensitive to geopolitical developments — especially in the Middle East — which have driven prices higher in the very short term. However, structural oversupply pressures and demand uncertainties still cloud the medium-term outlook, keeping the market in a tug-of-war between upward risk premiums and fundamental bearish forces. For now, though, geopolitical risks in general, and an escalation of issues between the US and Iran in particular, look to be dominating flows that have seen both Brent and WTI hit 5-month highs above $70 and $66 a barrel, respectively. TACO traders may be looking to fade these recent strong rallies if they feel that President Trump may get a deal through in the coming days; however, for now, the risk side of sentiment is winning the battle, and we could see further moves north in the coming sessions.
Busy Data Calendar Day Ahead for Traders
It looks like being another busy trading day to close out the week for investors today, with data releases due across all three of the sessions today, in addition to more expected geopolitical updates. In Asia, Japan’s Tokyo Core CPI is due out early in the piece, with the market expecting a +2.2% print. Europe will see Germany’s preliminary CPI data released throughout the day (exp 0.0%), while GDP (exp +0.2% q/q) is also released midway through the session. The New York session will see a big data drop early in the day, with Canadian GDP (exp +0.1% m/m) released alongside US PPI (+0.2% m/m) and Core PPI (exp +0.2% m/m) data. These key data updates should see some moves in their respective markets; however, again, newswires and previous volatility in key products should dominate sentiment before we hit the end of what has been a very long week.
Explore all upcoming market events in the Economic Calendar.
