The 10-year US Treasury yield surpassed 2.41% for the first time since May 2019
Wall Street stocks eased on Wednesday as oil prices rose, renewing inflation concerns amid another rally in oil and natural gas prices triggered by reports that Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sold to “unfriendly” countries. As such, energy stocks led the gains during the session. On the negative side, Adobe shares fell nearly 10% after the company forecasted lower-than-expected profit in its fiscal second quarter. As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3%, the S&P 500 declined 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.3%.
Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, as volatile commodity prices added concerns to investors amid the impact of an ongoing military operation in Ukraine. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.39% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.29%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 managed to finish slightly higher, aided by gains from materials, mining and energy stocks on higher commodity prices. The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.25% after the data showed that the country’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in March.
Meanwhile, the dollar retained its upside momentum to climb back to local highs just below the 99.00 figure that capped gains at the start of the week. the greenback rallied as the 10-year US Treasury yield surpassed 2.41% for the first time since May 2019 amid more hawkish signals from Fed officials after the central bank last week raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped back to $120 a barrel along with natural gas after Vladimir Putin said Moscow will seek payment in roubles for natural gas sales from unfriendly countries. Later today, Biden is scheduled to meet other NATO allies in Brussels and is widely expected to impose further sanctions on Russia. The US leader is also set to meet European Union leaders to discuss an embargo on Russian oil by EU members.
