Gold surged 2.59% to $4,490 as Q1 2026 ends with equities broadly lower. S&P 500 -1.67%, India's SENSEX -2.25%, Brent holds $114. Full quarterly wrap with Q2 outlook.
Gold surged 2.59% to $4,490 as Q1 2026 ends with equities broadly lower. S&P 500 -1.67%, India's SENSEX -2.25%, Brent holds $114. Full Q1 wrap.
FTSE 100 closed at 9,967 — 33 points from a historic milestone — as S&P 500 fell 1.67% and Nasdaq dropped 2.15%. UK 10-year gilt yields hit 4.981% while sterling climbed 0.57%.
Japan 10Y JGB hits 2.36% — highest since 2010 — as Norges Bank scraps its rate-cut forecast and signals hikes. Australia 10Y surges to 5.119%, Fed September hike odds reach 50%.
KOSPI −2.7%, Hang Seng −2.0%, Nikkei reversed to −0.27% as ceasefire optimism faded. MSCI Asia-Pacific is on track for its worst month since October 2022. India's SENSEX +1.63% diverged.
Asian equities posted their strongest advance in weeks after Iran ceasefire signals swept through Tokyo, Mumbai, and Sydney. Nikkei +2.87%, SENSEX +2.11%, ASX +2.03% — while Wall Street futures fell as durable goods missed.
CME FedWatch is pricing a 20% June rate hike probability — up from 0% four weeks ago — as Brent crude settles at $112.19 and the 30-year Treasury yield approaches the 5% bond vigilante threshold.
USD strengthens even as US equities fall and 10-year yields hold at 4.39%; USD/JPY nears 160 as the BOJ faces an impossible oil-shock dilemma with no clean policy path.
Brent +4.6% to $108.40 as Trump's infrastructure threat reverses de-escalation hopes; Nikkei futures -2.1%, tanker war risk premiums approaching 0.75% ahead of Monday open.
BofA's March survey shows cash allocations surging to 4.3% — biggest jump since March 2020 — as stagflation expectations hit 51% and China's CSI 300 outperforms all major peers.
DXY fell ~1% as the RBA hiked to 4.1%, ECB signalled possible rate rises, and the BOE triggered a violent gilt rout — reversing the Iran war's safe-haven premium on the greenback.
The 2025 easing cycle is effectively over. Five banks held in three days — the dot plot, BOJ dissent, and ECB market pricing signal the next move may be a hike, not a cut.
US equities down just 5% from highs while MSCI ACWI plunges 10%, Nikkei −5.2% weekly, DAX in correction. Oil, the dollar, and today's FOMC dot plot explain the divergence.
Fed holds at 3.50–3.75%, ECB at 2.00% — dot plot and revised ECB forecasts will signal whether oil-driven inflation is temporary or structural. BoC, BoE, BoJ also decide this week.
S&P 500 at 6,632, Nikkei -3.24% on the week, German factory orders -11.1% MoM — the Iran conflict has sorted global markets by energy import dependency.
Global equity funds shed $7.05bn — worst week since December — as the Iran oil shock pushed investors into money markets, short-term bonds, and industrial sector funds.
Global Market Updates provides data-driven analysis of worldwide equities, commodities and energy markets, forex and currencies, and central bank policy. Our coverage is sourced from exchanges, central banks, and international economic agencies — written for readers who demand substantive market intelligence beyond the headlines.