Wall Street Slips, FTSE 100 Climbs Amidst US-Iran Hostilities
Global equity markets tightened as US-Iran hostilities dampened investors’ sentiment, with selloffs on Wall Street at the close of the session on Friday.
Escalating hostilities between the US and Iran emerged as the dominant overnight market force, driving Brent crude above $90 a barrel for the first time since mid-June. The geopolitical distortions have triggered renewed inflation concerns across global bond and equity markets.
Tehran’s declaration that its ceasefire commitments had effectively collapsed, combined with attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and a strike on a Kuwaiti oil facility, have rattled sentiment heading into the new week.
The S&P 500 (-1.01%), the Nasdaq (-1.40%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.77%) each ended Friday’s session lower, weighed by a technology-led selloff triggered by a breakthrough from Chinese artificial-intelligence startup Moonshot, First National Bank (FNB) said in a brief on Monday.
The FTSE 100 closed Friday up 0.27%, buoyed by energy names, while the Euro Stoxx 50 (SX5E) fell 0.84% as chip stocks tracked global losses. The Nikkei 225 (NKY) is closed today for a public holiday.
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) is up 2.0%, lifted by state fund buying in Chinese equities and earnings optimism ahead of a busy week of technology results. The ASX 200 is barely changed, with gains in energy and banking offsetting broader weakness.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is set for a soft open this morning with most global futures pointing to a constrained start amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and ongoing volatility in the AI space.
However, Tencent is up 3.5% in Hong Kong, a constructive read-through for Naspers and Prosus, which may help to offset weakness elsewhere. The ASX Metals and Mining Index edged marginally lower by 0.1%, applying a modest headwind to local resource counters.
Gold is softer this morning, which may temper enthusiasm for gold miners, while platinum is also trading lower, adding pressure to precious metals counters.
Brent crude’s sharp advance above $90 a barrel is the session’s most consequential commodity move, likely to lend support to JSE-listed energy and oil-linked names.
The South African local bourse closed lower on Friday, with sentiment weighed by a global risk-off mood that broadly weighed on emerging-market assets. By market close, the All Share Index shed 0.70% to 109 570, and the Top 40 declined 0.75% to 101 222.
Industrials (-1.11%) were the hardest-hit sector amid a sharp decline in Naspers (-4.3%), followed by Resources (-0.67%), pressured by weakness in the Precious Metals & Mining Index (-0.66%).
Financials were the relative outperformer, easing just 0.36%. Local investors now look ahead to key economic data points due this week, namely the inflation print and the SARB’s interest rate decision. #Wall Street Slips, FTSE 100 Climbs Amidst US-Iran Hostilities#
Wall Street Rallies, European Stocks Slip as US Inflation Risks Ease
