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Softer Bond Yields, Oil Prices Boost European Bourse Midday

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European bourses tracked moderately higher midday Tuesday as traders mulled easing interest rates and oil prices, and awaited quarterly financial results on Wednesday from semiconductor bellwether Nvidia (NVDA).

Tech, bank and property stocks led gains on continental trading floors, while oil shares lagged.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude oil futures were down 2.6% to $88.18 a barrel at midday.

Investors also eyed Wall Street futures in the green, and higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges.

In economic news, Germany's business climate index rose to a seasonally adjusted 88.8 in August, up from 86.7 in July, Ifo reported. The current conditions index improved to 88.5 in August from 86.5 in July, while the expectations index rose to 89.1 in August, from 86.8 in July.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.5% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 0.8%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index gained 0.4%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was flat, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 0.8%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, rose 0.5%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 0.8%, and the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.2%. The CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lifted 0.4%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were lower, near 3.22%.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 0.8% to 16.25, indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Push Technology Lower, Bessent Unveils Plans to Choke Iran's Economy

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, analyst comments, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes closed mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil extended declines after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a plan to sever Iran's economic lifelines.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to 25,980.19, and the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,652.86 on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.3% to 53,417.16. All sectors except three rose, with consumer staples and financials emerging as top gainers.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, nine of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those nine firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 6.5%.Treasury Secretary Bessent unveiled "unprecedented" secondary sanctions to sever Tehran from the global economy.The US plans to impose sanctions on countries that do business with Iran, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey, Axios reported. "No one is above the reach of US sanctions," CNBC reported, citing Bessent on Monday in response to a question on whether the Trump administration would target Chinese banks."... we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said. The campaign targets five sectors that Treasury identified as vital to Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, he said.Ahead of the US announcement, Iran warned vessels violating its rules for transiting the Strait of Hormuz could face restrictions, including fines, detention or confiscation, according to Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster. Tehran has condemned US plans to announce new sanctions and vowed to retaliate against any country that supports Washington, as President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a diplomatic solution.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 2.4% to $84.95 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 2.6% to $91.93 per barrel.Following the collapse of the US-Canada trade talks late on Friday, the US has imposed tariffs of 50% on $20 billion of goods imports from Canada, according to a note from Macquarie. The tariffs amount to about 0.03% of US gross domestic product and 0.4% of Canada's GDP, the note added.Nvidia (NVDA) customers are facing price increases of over 15% on servers equipped with its artificial intelligence chips due to rising memory costs, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Separately, Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported Sunday. Nvidia declined 2.9%, the Dow's worst performer.Expedia (EXPE) delivered its fifth consecutive beat and raise in Q2, with full-year guidance raised on all three lines, as the business-to-consumer segment continues to see solid top-line improvement and stronger margin expansion, Wedbush Securities said Thursday. Shares of Expedia jumped 5.4%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,704.3, while silver futures slid 1% to $68.86.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$EXPE$NVDA$SNDK
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Investors Await Iran Sanctions While Chipmakers Push Technology Lower

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, tariffs and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil declined ahead of Iran economic sanctions.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 26,064.7, and the S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 7,659.2 after midday Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.2% to 53,392.1.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, eight of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those eight firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 6.5%.US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 30-year down 5.6 basis points to 5.22%, the 10-year lower by 4.2 basis points to 4.7% and the two-year little changed at 4.24%. The US Treasury Department may tap its General Account to help fund its buyback operation, CNBC reported.The US is set to warn countries to cut ties with Iran or risk their businesses being cut off from the dollar-based financial system when it unveils the "greatest financial offensive ever" on Monday, a source told Reuters.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will outline measures to broaden the scope of potential secondary sanctions on entities and countries that maintain economic ties with Iran, the source, who was familiar with the plans but not authorized to speak publicly, told the news agency.There appear to be growing differences within Iran's leadership on how to handle the conflict with the US, CNN reported. While President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran "cannot continue with war forever," others have continued to reject dialogue, the news report said.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 1.9% to $85.38 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 1.8% to $92.71 per barrel.Nvidia (NVDA) customers are facing price increases of over 15% on servers equipped with its artificial intelligence chips due to rising memory costs, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Separately, Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported Sunday. Nvidia declined 2.1%, among the Dow's worst performers.Expedia (EXPE) delivered its fifth consecutive beat and raise in Q2, with full-year guidance raised on all three lines, as the business-to-consumer segment continues to see solid top-line improvement and stronger margin expansion, Wedbush Securities said Thursday. Shares of Expedia jumped 4.1%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Strategy (MSTR) established USD Cash, a separate US dollar liquidity pool within its Digital Credit Capital Framework for future bitcoin treasury purposes, the bitcoin treasury firm said in a Monday regulatory filing. Shares of the company jumped 5.3%, the biggest outperformer on the Nasdaq.In economic news, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's monthly National Activity Index fell to minus 0.08 in July from 0.06 in June, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to minus 0.05 in a Bloomberg survey.President Donald Trump said US tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel will rise to 50% next year, escalating trade tensions between the two countries after bilateral trade talks collapsed on Friday.Gold futures rose 0.9% to $4,724.1, while silver futures slid 0.8% to $68.94.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$EXPE$MSTR$NVDA$SNDK
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Fall, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 0.7%.US equity indexes traded mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each lost 1.3%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) fell 1.5%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) also declined.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) shed 3.2%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) eased 2.7%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) advanced 2.8%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 2.8%.CommoditiesCrude oil eased 2%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 1.5%. Natural gas gained 0.1%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) climbed 1.6%.Gold on Comex rose 0.8%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.8%. Silver slipped 1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell 0.9%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 1.4%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 1.4%, while iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) gained 0.9%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.4%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 0.9%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) gained 1%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 0.2%. iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were also lower. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.9%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) dipped 0.9%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also in the red.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) added 2.1%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) gained 2.6%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was up 2.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) climbed 3.3%.

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