Global markets fall as Middle East tensions push oil higher 24/10/2026

1. WALL STREET FALLS ON OIL AND GEOPOLITICAL PRESSURE.
Details: On October 23, 2026, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points (-1.2%) to 52,215.16; the S&P 500 lost 39.75 points (-0.5%) to 7,623.68; the Nasdaq Composite fell 53.52 points (-0.2%) to 25,955.34; the Russell 2000 fell 8.13 points (-0.3%) to 2,775.90. For the week, the Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 0.5% and 0.7%, while the Russell 2000 gained 2.0%. Rising oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions, along with continued selling in technology shares, weighed on sentiment.

2. EUROPE AND ASIA MOSTLY TRADE LOWER.
Details: In Europe on October 23, the UK FTSE 100 lost 0.32% to 10,690.36; France's CAC 40 dropped 0.36% to 7,782.82; Germany's DAX fell 0.75% to 25,181.65. In Asia on October 24, Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 1.4%; South Korea's Kospi fell 2.1% to a three-month low; China's CSI 300 declined 1.1% to its lowest since July 2025; Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3%. The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index lost 0.3% on the day and 2.7% for the week, its fourth straight weekly decline. The extension of the AI/tech sell-off was the main drag on regional equities.

3. OIL JUMPS TO HIGHEST SINCE APRIL 2026.
Details: December Brent futures settled at $116.72 a barrel, up $3.55 (+3.14%), the highest since April 2026; the contract gained 6.24% for the week. December WTI settled at $103.27 a barrel, up $3.80 (+3.82%), with a weekly rise of 4.3%. Market drivers included the escalating Middle East conflict, remarks by US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy Tom Barrack that US forces could strike Iran as early as the weekend, comments by Donald Trump about a possible small-scale 'epic fury' action against Iran, and another tanker hit by an unknown projectile near the Strait of Hormuz. These military-action statements remain official claims that have not been independently confirmed, and Iranian authorities had not commented in the aggregated data.

4. GOLD BREAKS BELOW $4,000 AN OUNCE.
Details: Spot gold touched as low as $3,986.77 an ounce during the session, below $4,000; December Comex gold settled down $52.50 (-1.29%) at $4,007.90 an ounce. December silver lost $1.06 (-1.92%) to settle at $53.95 an ounce. LME copper fell around 1.8%-1.9% to near $14,078 a tonne, while copper futures dropped 2.6%. The stronger US dollar and global growth concerns outweighed safe-haven demand for precious metals.

5. 10-YEAR YIELD FALLS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK.
Details: The US 10-year Treasury yield rose 3.5 basis points on the day to 4.987%, but fell 11 basis points for the week; the 2-year yield stood at 4.68%, down 5.4 basis points over the week. Bloomberg data showed global corporate credit spreads widening to 129 basis points, the highest since May 2025, as AI-stock selling and geopolitical tensions boosted defensive demand; the cost to insure US blue-chip corporate debt against default reached the highest since March. Meta Platforms said it may raise 'hundreds of billions of dollars' over several years for AI investment, with spending commitments rising to about $825 billion from almost $700 billion in July.

6. US PMI COOLS WHILE CONSUMER SENTIMENT IMPROVES.
Details: S&P Global flash composite PMI for October came in at 57.6, down from 58.4 in September; the flash services PMI was 57.9 and flash manufacturing PMI was 56.0. The final University of Michigan October consumer sentiment rose to 48.0 from the preliminary 46.3; the one-year inflation outlook was 4.7%. The divergence between cooling business activity and improving consumer sentiment added to caution over the growth and interest-rate outlook.

7. SMALL CAPS OUTPERFORM DESPITE BROADER MARKET DROP.
Details: Even as the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell on October 23, the Russell 2000 slipped only 0.3% on the day and rose 2.0% for the week, bucking the large-cap technology decline. Some market participants saw signs of rotation into small-cap and domestically oriented stocks as investors sought relative shelter from international risks; however, the move is not yet confirmed as a durable trend.

Điều cần theo dõi hôm nay: Further statements from Washington and Tehran on Hormuz tensions, and oil-price moves in the final session of the week.

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