Global Equities

Brent crude retreated toward $99, lifting global equities and easing the dollar as Treasury yields drifted lower and rate-cut probabilities rebuilt.

KOSPI surges 6.5%, Nikkei +4.04% as Trump signals US exit from Iran in weeks. South Korea's March exports hit a record $86.13bn — up 48.3% YoY on AI chip demand.

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%.

KOSPI −2.7%, Hang Seng −2.0%, Nikkei reversed to −0.27% as ceasefire optimism faded. MSCI Asia-Pacific on track for its worst month since October 2022. India's SENSEX +1.63% diverged.

Asian equities posted their strongest advance in weeks as Iran ceasefire signals swept through Tokyo, Mumbai, and Sydney. Nikkei +2.87%, SENSEX +2.11%, ASX +2.03% — Wall Street skeptical.

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.

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.

Industrial output +6.3% YoY — fastest since September 2025 — but new home prices fell 3.2% and urban unemployment rose to 5.3%, revealing structural fragility beneath the headline beat.

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.

S&P 500 fell to a YTD low of 6,672 as the Iran oil shock delivered the steepest global equity drawdown since COVID — Nifty –1.3%, Nikkei –1.2%, KOSPI –11% at trough.