Oil Prices Continue To Rise Amid Escalation

The US stock markets ended Wednesday in the green as investors returned to buying shares of major technology companies. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Index (US30) rose by 0.56%. The S&P500 Index (US500) gained 0.46%. The Technology Index Nasdaq(US100) closed Wednesday in the green at 0.45%. Financial and technology companies recovered part of their recent losses caused by the spike in government‑bond yields. Meta shares rose by 2.5%, Oracle by 3.1%, and Alphabet by 0.6%. Nvidia shares jumped by 3.2% amid reports of a possible acquisition of the AI startup Hugging Face for $14 billion. Dell shares surged by 15.8% thanks to strong earnings and an upgraded revenue outlook.

The Bank of Canada (BoC) left the key interest rate unchanged at 2.25%, as expected (the pause continues for the seventh consecutive meeting). The regulator adopted a more hawkish stance, emphasizing rising pro‑inflation risks and growing uncertainty due to new trade tariffs. The Bank left the door open for further tightening if necessary, which supported the national currency. Additional support for the loonie came from high oil prices caused by supply disruptions amid the escalation of the Middle East conflict.

In Europe, by the end of Tuesday, Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 0.50%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed down 0.26%, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) declined by 0.23%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed in the red at 0.30%. The yield on 10‑year German government bonds continued its upward trend on Wednesday, rising to 3.4% and reaching its highest levels since April 2011. The bond market continues to react to rising inflationary pressure and expectations of aggressive moves by regulators. After August inflation in the Eurozone jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, money markets almost fully (with nearly 100% probability) price in an interest‑rate hike by the European Central Bank at next week’s meeting.

The oil market entered a consolidation phase around $90 per barrel on Wednesday after a two‑day rally that pushed prices to six‑week highs. Traders are trying to balance the escalation of geopolitical risks in the Middle East with actual physical‑flow data. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright reported that 17 million barrels of oil passed through the strategic corridor on Monday – the highest daily volume since the start of the armed conflict. Meanwhile, data from analytics firm KPLER recorded a drop in traffic on Tuesday to 4 commercial vessels versus 10 the day before. Washington and Tehran exchanged new strikes, with the US threatening even larger attacks. According to Iranian media, facilities near the Strait of Hormuz were hit, while Iran claimed retaliatory strikes on US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 2.85%, China’s FTSE China 50 closed down 1.23%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) declined by 0.07%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) closed Wednesday lower by 0.97%.

The Australian dollar consolidated above $0.71, holding its highest levels in more than three months thanks to strong macroeconomic data and rising expectations of continued tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Australia’s July trade surplus narrowed to 1.9 billion AUD (from a revised 2.3 billion the previous month), but the result was better than the consensus outlook of 1.45 billion AUD. The decline was driven by lower gold exports and reduced fuel imports.

The New Zealand dollar (NZD) stabilized at recent levels, holding around $0.585 after a recent wave of sell‑offs triggered by dovish signals from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). Despite a second consecutive rate hike (by 25 bps to 2.75%), the medium‑term expectations published by the regulator were more conservative than market expectations, leading to a sharp weakening of the kiwi on Wednesday.

• S&P 500 (US500) 7,666.68 +35.21 (+0.46%)

• Dow Jones (US30) 53,061.51 +294.63 (+0.56%)

• DAX (DE40) 25,839.33 -130.78 (-0.50%)

• FTSE 100 (UK100) 10,756.45 -32.83 (-0.30%)

• USD Index 99.60 -0.08 (-0.08%)

News feed for: 2026.09.03

• Australia Trade Balance (m/m) at 04:30 (GMT+3) – AUD (MED)

• China RatingDog Services PMI (m/m) at 04:45 (GMT+3) – CHA50, HK50 (LOW)

• Switzerland Inflation Rate (m/m) at 09:30 (GMT+3) – CHF (HIGH)

• Switzerland GDP (q/q) at 10:00 (GMT+3) – CHF (MED)

• German Services PMI (m/m) at 10:55 (GMT+3) – EUR (LOW)

• Eurozone Services PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+3) – EUR (MED)

• UK Services PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+3) – GBP (MED)

• Eurozone Producer Price Index (m/m) at 12:00 (GMT+3) – EUR (MED)

• Canada Trade Balance (m/m) at 15:30 (GMT+3) – CAD (MED)

• US Trade Balance (m/m) at 15:30 (GMT+3) – USD (MED)

• US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 15:30 (GMT+3) – USD (MED)

• Canada Services PMI (m/m) at 16:30 (GMT+3) – CAD (MED)

• US ISM Services PMI (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3) – USD (MED)

• US Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+3) – XNG (HIGH)