By the end of Wednesday’s session, the Dow Jones Index (US30) fell by 0.66%. The S&P 500 Index (US500) declined by 0.22%. The Tech‑heavy Nasdaq Index (US100) closed in the red at 0.22%. The shift in investor sentiment was driven by a combination of persistently high credit rates and the release of the FOMC meeting minutes, which recorded the regulator’s unanimous stance on the need to maintain tight monetary policy to fully suppress inflationary pressure. Although a successful auction of 10‑year US Treasury notes contributed to a local decline in long‑end yields, credit spreads remain wide, creating risks for the profitability of debt‑sensitive sectors.
Fiscal‑condition pressure also extended to the high‑tech sector, where rising borrowing costs are beginning to restrain order flow. As a result, shares of key AI‑infrastructure players ended in the red: Nvidia fell by 0.7%, AMD by 0.5%, Meta by 2.4%, and Oracle by 0.8%. Notably, the market ignored major news about SpaceX’s intention to raise around $40 billion in debt financing to purchase Nvidia chips.
On Wednesday, European stock indices also declined. By the end of the day, Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed down by 1.22%, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) dropped by 1.68%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) finished the session lower by 0.79%.
Crude oil prices (WTI) continued their corrective move, falling below $89 per barrel and hitting a monthly low. The total decline from the September highs reached 16% amid a gradual reduction of the Middle East geopolitical risk premium. A key signal for the market was Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut the Official Selling Price (OSP) for its flagship Arab Light grade by $5 relative to the regional benchmark. Meanwhile, US commercial crude inventories, according to the EIA, fell by more than 3 million barrels over the week. Considering that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is near multi‑year lows and limited in its ability to conduct new large‑scale physical interventions, the current price decline looks more like a cooling of speculative overheating than the beginning of a long‑term oversupply trend.
A five‑day rally in natural gas (XNG) to $3.27 per MMBtu is being fueled by a drop in continental production to 111.5 billion cubic feet per day, ongoing issues on major pipelines, and increased export activity through Freeport LNG. However, the approach of tropical storm “Isaiah” to the Gulf Coast creates two‑sided uncertainty: the threat of offshore production shutdowns pushes prices higher, but potential power outages and technical pauses at LNG terminals could quickly limit domestic gas consumption.
In Asia on Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 0.92%, China’s FTSE China 50 did not trade yesterday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) declined by 0.62%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) closed lower by 0.09%.
The Australian dollar (AUD) remains pinned below the $0.7000 mark near multi‑week lows under pressure from broad US dollar strength. The hawkish tone of the FOMC minutes – where inflation was described as the main economic risk and current conditions as only moderately restrictive – confirmed the readiness of some Fed officials to continue raising rates. However, markets remain skeptical about an October move by the US regulator, pricing the probability of a 25 bps hike at only 19%, which temporarily limits further downside in the AUD/USD pair.
S&P 500 (US500) 7,801.77 -17.16 (-0.22%)
Dow Jones (US30) 51,521.28 -341.41 (-0.66%)
DAX (DE40) 25,104.36 -344.83 (-1.35%)
FTSE 100 (UK100) 10,458.50 -83.19 (-0.79%)
USD Index 102.29 -0.46 (-0.45%)
News feed for: 2026.10.08
German Trade Balance (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3) – EUR (LOW)
Eurozone ECB Monetary Meeting Accounts at 14:30 (GMT+3) – EUR (MED)
Mexico Inflation Rate (m/m) at 15:00 (GMT+3) – MXN (MED)
US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 15:30 (GMT+3) – USD (MED)
US Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+3) – XNG (HIGH)
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