Brent Briefly Tops $95 as US-Iran Tensions Remain High

Brent crude futures briefly crossed $95 a barrel on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

Brent rose 3.5% to $94.18 in Wednesday trade, having hit $95.47 earlier in the day. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 3% at $86.85 a barrel.

The US will destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant, including those in and around Tehran, every time it attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it hit Jordan's King Faisal and Prince Hassan bases with missiles and drones, claiming to target US military equipment in response to recent American strikes, CNN reported. The US Central Command said Tuesday it struck Iran for the 11th consecutive evening.

Four more tankers changed course in the Red Sea Wednesday following threats by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis to attack vessels using Saudi Arabian ports, Reuters reported.

The Houthis have completed preparations to target vessels near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, according to a Joint Maritime Information Center advisory. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively closed due to tensions between the US and Iran.

"This is causing more worries about a global growth slowdown than worries about a renewal of inflation and inflation expectations," Thierry Wizman, global foreign exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said.

Crude prices plunged in May and June, but have rallied this month as tensions between the US and Iran intensified.

Bajaj Auto Posts Record Fiscal First-Quarter Profit, Revenue on Strong Domestic, Overseas Demand

Bajaj Auto (NSE:BAJAJ-AUTO, BOM:532977) reported record quarterly profit and revenue in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 on the back of strong demand for its two-wheelers and electric vehicles at home and overseas.Consolidated net profit rose 45.9% to 32.3 billion Indian rupees from 22.1 billion rupees a year earlier, according to a bourse filing Tuesday.Earnings per share climbed to 106.80 rupees from 75 rupees.Revenue from operations surged 37% year over year to an all-time high of 172.4 billion rupees, the company said, citing record quarterly volumes.Quarterly sales volume stood at 1.4 million units, up 29% from 1.1 million units a year prior. The increase was mainly driven by a 54% jump in exports and an 11% increase in domestic sales.The upbeat performance was also boosted by the first full-quarter consolidation of Bajaj Mobility AG, the Austria-based parent of European premium motorcycles manufacturer KTM Group.During an earnings call, Bajaj Auto's Joint Managing Director Rakesh Sharma acknowledged that the company delivered its "highest quarterly performance across all parameters.""We are looking at moving exports to beyond the 250,000 per month level this quarter and onwards. As you will recall, we were just a few quarters earlier trying to knock at 200,000," Sharma said.The company's record figures came despite inflationary pressures."The commodity inflation we absorbed in this single quarter was greater than the totality of the inflation that we've experienced over the previous two financial years put together," Bajaj Auto CFO Dinesh Thapar told analysts during the earnings call."That, I believe, gives you a sense of the sheer intensity and enormity of the issue that we were faced with on the cost environment."Thapar added that pricing actions taken in April and June offset nearly half of the inflationary hit.In June, India's producer price inflation accelerated to an all-time high of 9.57%.Looking ahead, Bajaj said it plans an "exhaustive portfolio makeover" within the next six weeks, including introducing a new 150cc and 125cc under the Pulsar brand.

BOM:532977NSE:BAJAJ-AUTO

Update: Hungary Probes BYD Investment After Ex-Foreign Minister Takes Job at Carmaker

(Updates throughout for clarity and to add a statement from Hungary's Government Communications Office and to correct reference to the date of BYD's electric trucks announcement)Hungary has launched an investigation into state support for BYD's (HKG:1211, SHE:002594) investment after former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó left the government to join the Chinese automaker as an executive.Prime Minister Péter Magyar told lawmakers on Monday that authorities will review decisions, negotiations and state commitments related to BYD's investment approved during the previous government. The probe will examine subsidies, tax breaks, permits, environmental exemptions and publicly funded infrastructure provided for the Chinese automaker.Magyar alleged that Szijjártó helped BYD expand in Hungary with "hundreds of billions" of forints in public funding, diplomatic backing and state infrastructure while in office."We will examine all the decisions, negotiations and state commitments made by Péter Szijjártó that were related to the BYD Hungary investment," the Associated Press quoted Magyar as saying. "We will investigate who made these decisions, who prepared them, what professional warnings were ignored, and how much burden they left on Hungarian taxpayers, workers, local communities and the environment."BYD did not immediately respond to' request for comment, while Hungary's Communications Office declined and said it is "unable to provide any additional information or copies of internal communications while administrative reviews are ongoing."Szijjártó announced his resignation from parliament July 15 to join BYD. His post on Facebook described the new role as a prestigious opportunity to work for one of the automotive industry's biggest success stories.While serving in government, the AP reported that Szijjártó, who was appointed to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in September 2014, played a key role in attracting Chinese investment to Hungary.Previous announcements show that in May 2025, BYD secured state support worth 20 billion forints after it picked the capital city of Budapest for its European headquarters and for a research and development center. A month later, BYD also unveiled a 75.7 million-euro investment to expand its electric bus factory in Komárom to manufacture electric trucks.BYD's first passenger vehicle plant on the European continent is also being built in Hungary, as announced in 2023. BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li told Reuters in June 2026 that the facility will start production within the year, which is about a year later than expected."Hungary is the number one priority right now," Li told the news outlet then. The executive added that the automaker was prioritizing production in Europe and that work on a planned factory in Turkey has been put on hold.Reuters also noted that BYD's sales in Europe surged 270% in 2025 to nearly 188,000 vehicles, while sales rose 144% year to date through May to more than 100,000 units.

HKG:1211SHE:002594

Update: Wall Street Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak in Tech-Led Bounce

(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)US equities advanced Tuesday after a three-day slump, with chip stocks lifting the technology sector, even as oil prices rose amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3% to 25,837.21, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9% to close at 7,509.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 52,224.64. Barring consumer staples and communication services, all sectors ended in the green, led by tech's 2.4% gain.Micron Technology (MU) was among the best performers on the S&P 500, up 12%, while Sandisk (SNDK) surged 14%, the index's top gainer. Intel (INTC) jumped 8.6%, while Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2%, among biggest gainers on the Dow."Stock traders today have shrugged off the news from the war in favor of buying the chip makers again, presumably on the hope that the (artificial intelligence) hyperscalers, when they report (second-quarter) earnings over the next few days, will also report large capital spending plans," Macquarie said Monday in a report. "That's hoped to boost the earnings outlooks for the hardware makers."West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 2% at $84.91 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 2.5% to $91.44.The US will hit the area of Pickaxe Mountain "probably pretty soon," news outlets reported, citing President Donald Trump. The underground facility is reportedly believed to be connected to Iran's nuclear program.Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan intercepted Iranian aerial attacks on Tuesday, CNN reported. The US Central Command said Monday its forces had struck Iran again.Two tankers carrying Saudi crude turned back in the Red Sea as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to strike vessels using Saudi ports, Reuters reported.Treasury yields were higher, with the two-year rate up 4.9 basis points at 4.26% and the 10-year rate rising 3.2 basis points to 4.63%.In corporate news, 3M (MMM) raised its full-year earnings outlook as the industrial conglomerate reported second-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates. The stock jumped 7.3%, the biggest gain on the Dow.General Motors (GM) lifted its full-year profit guidance as the automaker recorded an unexpected year-over-year increase in its second-quarter revenue. The stock rose 4.9%.Danaher (DHR) slid 11%, the worst performer on the S&P 500. The medical equipment maker raised its full-year profit guidance as its fiscal second-quarter results came in stronger than expected, but it lowered the top end of its 2026 revenue growth outlook.Gold advanced 1.8% to $4,088.40 per troy ounce, while silver climbed 3.5% to $59.05 per ounce.

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Bajaj Auto Posts Record Fiscal First-Quarter Profit, Revenue on Strong Domestic, Overseas Demand

Update: Hungary Probes BYD Investment After Ex-Foreign Minister Takes Job at Carmaker

Update: Wall Street Snaps 3-Day Losing Streak in Tech-Led Bounce