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German Stocks Join European Retreat Amid Further Middle East Conflict Escalation

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Germany's blue-chip DAX index was down 1.66% at Wednesday's close, joining a regional retreat in Europe, as intensifying tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran in the Middle East continue to stoke supply and inflation concerns.

Iran reported targeting 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz and firing at a US-used base in Jordan in retaliation for the five Iranian oil tankers destroyed by the US. The rapid escalation sent Brent crude past the $100-a-barrel threshold for the first time since July, according to Reuters.

On the policy front, the European Commission proposed a European Innovation Act aimed at improving access to financing for innovative companies and helping them scale across the bloc. The proposal includes a common framework for valuing intellectual property and measures to facilitate research and development procurement.

In corporate news, Deutsche Lufthansa's (LHA.F) Swiss International Air Lines, d/b/a Swiss, is adjusting its flight schedules. Swiss announced the resumption of its daily Zurich-Dubai flights on Oct. 27, saying it will continue to monitor the security situation closely. The German airline ended the trading day 1.23% in the red.

Deutsche Börse (DB1.F) lost 2.28% as it placed 600 million euros of unsubordinated, unsecured convertible bonds, with proceeds going to general corporate purposes, including the refinancing of existing debt. The bonds will be redeemed at maturity on Sept. 16, 2031, unless previously converted, redeemed or repurchased and canceled.

Meanwhile, Mutares (MUX.F) closed the sale of Dutch heat transfer technology specialist NEM Energy Group to Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems, a subsidiary of South Korea-listed MiCo. The German private equity firm was down 1.73% at the end of the session.

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Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Drop as Houthi Strikes on Saudi Arabia's Energy Infrastructure Lift Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes declined as Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian energy facilities sent crude oil higher, fueling inflation concerns.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2% to 52,786.07, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3% to 26,421.41, and the S&P 500 retreated 0.6% to 7,673.52 on Tuesday. Energy and utilities were among the gainers. Healthcare and financials led decliners.Iran's Fars news agency reported an explosion in the southern Jask area of the Islamic Republic, after reports of earlier explosions heard on the country's Kharg Island, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported.This comes as Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked energy facilities and cities in US ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and underscoring the risk of the Iran conflict escalating into a wider regional war, Reuters reported.Saudi Arabia said the attacks stopped operations at several energy facilities in the kingdom's south, Bloomberg reported, while noting a pick-up in buying by China, the world's largest importer. The US struck three Iranian tankers on Saturday in response to attacks on two US Navy warships."As we ponder a prolonged conflict, our expectations increasingly shift to a slower recovery in Middle East oil supply," Peter Taylor, head of commodity strategy at Macquarie, said in a note. "In this environment, we would anticipate deficits persisting through [year-end 2026], with the market approximately balanced in 2027."The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract jumped 2.8% to $94.05 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 2.2% to $99.11 per barrel.Most US Treasury yields rose, with the two-year up 1.7 basis points to 4.40%, amid concern that higher crude oil prices undermine the Federal Reserve's efforts to bring inflation back to its 2% target. The 10-year yield was steady at 4.79%.Gold futures dropped 1.7% to $4,403.4.In company news, Novartis (NVS) sank nearly 14% after the company said its phase 3 Harbor study evaluating delpacibart etedesiran in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 failed to meet its primary endpoint of video hand opening time. Amgen's (AMGN) experimental heart drug olpasiran may still show a meaningful reduction in major cardiovascular events, even after Novartis' competing drug failed in a large study, UBS Securities said in a note. Amgen shares slumped 10%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow.Intel (INTC) is expected to raise personal computer central processing unit prices by another 10% in early October, Digitimes reported, citing supply chain sources. Intel shares jumped 9.1%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Nebius Group (NBIS) agreed on a strategic partnership that will give Palantir commercial customers access to Nebius' artificial intelligence-native compute infrastructure and cloud platform, the companies said Tuesday. Nebius shares surged 7.7%, among the biggest Nasdaq outperformers.In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business' monthly sentiment index fell to 98.7 in August from 99.8 in July, with declines in six of the 10 components, particularly the economic outlook."Uncertainty remains elevated among small business owners as they face a mixed set of challenges with weakened sales, supply chain disruptions, and inflation pressures," said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. "While expectations for the overall economy dimmed, Main Street owners remain largely positive about the health of their own businesses."

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMGN$INTC$NBIS$NVS$PLTR
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Mixed, US Equities Fall After Midday

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV eased. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.2%.US equity indexes declined as a reported attack by Iran-backed militia group on Saudi Arabian energy sites pushed crude oil prices higher.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 0.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) climbed 0.5%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) gained 0.6%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) rose 0.2%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) added 0.5%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) rose 1.7%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) advanced 2%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) slipped 1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 2.8%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 3.2%.CommoditiesCrude oil increased 0.8%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 0.9%. Natural gas shed 3.2%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) dropped 2%.Gold on Comex fell 0.7%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) declined 0.9%. Silver advanced 0.5%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose 0.4%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) shed 0.7%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) fell 0.8%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) eased 0.5%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) lost 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) fell 1.3%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) dropped 2.3%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 2.2%; iShares US Healthcare (IYH) dropped 2.1% and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) declined 1.8%, while iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 1.7%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was little changed. The Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 0.2% and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) dropped 0.4%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 0.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) lost 1.4%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 1.8%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) slipped 1.4%.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Fall as Strikes on Saudi Arabian Energy Sites Send Crude Oil Higher

(Updates with index/price moves, comments and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes declined as an Iran-backed militia group's attack on Saudi Arabian energy sites pushed crude oil prices higher.The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2% to 26,455.1, the S&P 500 retreated 0.4% to 7,688.2, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% to 52,839.5 after midday Tuesday.Energy and utilities were among a trio of gainers intraday. Healthcare and financials led decliners.Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked energy facilities and cities in US ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and underscoring the risk of the Iran conflict escalating into a wider regional war, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia said the attacks stopped operations at several energy facilities in the kingdom's south, Bloomberg reported, while noting a pick-up in buying by China, the world's largest importer.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 0.7% to $92.11 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 0.3% to $97.27 per barrel, off session highs of more than 1% each."As we ponder a prolonged conflict, our expectations increasingly shift to a slower recovery in Middle East oil supply," Peter Taylor, head of commodity strategy at Macquarie, said in a note. "In this environment, we would anticipate deficits persisting through [year-end 2026], with the market approximately balanced in 2027."US Treasury yields rose, with the two-year up 1.5 basis points to 4.39% and the 10-year higher by 1.4 basis points to 4.80%.Gold futures fell 1.1% to $4,428.1.In company news, Intel (INTC) is expected to raise personal computer central processing unit prices by another 10% in early October, Digitimes reported, citing supply chain sources. Intel shares jumped 9%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Nebius Group (NBIS) agreed on a strategic partnership that will give Palantir commercial customers access to Nebius' artificial intelligence-native compute infrastructure and cloud platform, the companies said Tuesday. Nebius surged 10%, among the biggest Nasdaq outperformers.Novartis (NVS) sank 13% after the company said its phase 3 Harbor study evaluating delpacibart etedesiran in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 failed to meet its primary endpoint of video hand opening time.Canadian tariffs announced after trade talks with the US collapsed last month took effect on Tuesday and range from 15% to 50%, impacting hundreds of US products, including dairy, agricultural equipment, paper, household appliances and electronics.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$INTC$NBIS$NVS$PLTR