1045 stories from 18 sources
The month in Global Markets
Longest running story: 35 days
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Threads
8 threads
The yen’s slide moved from intervention speculation and crowded carry exposure toward explicit official action as authorities, joined by the United States, intervened. The move put yen shorts and related funding trades at immediate risk after earlier dollar pressure had already fragmented the carry-trade structure.
Markets moved from a softer Fed hike outlook toward renewed tightening fears as energy prices, sticky inflation, heavy issuance, and policy uncertainty drove long-term yields higher. By month-end, the Fed’s split decision and rising mortgage rates showed that bonds were no longer reliably absorbing shocks or easing financial conditions.
Concerns about stretched chip valuations developed into a global technology selloff that spread through commodities, emerging markets, credit, and leveraged positions. Forced selling, collateral calls, and tougher borrowing terms turned doubts about AI spending and profit durability into a wider financing risk.
Iran-related attacks and shipping disruptions repeatedly pushed oil higher, lifting inflation expectations, bond yields, and pressure on equities and emerging markets. A US-Iran pause later pulled crude lower and revived risk assets, but demand for gold showed that the shock continued to shape positioning.
Equities initially resisted shifting rate expectations, supported by chip strength and resilient growth. The AI-led selloff later drove capital toward the FTSE 100, financial stocks, and equal-weighted markets, suggesting broader participation as investors questioned technology concentration.
China’s weak domestic demand, job creation, and industrial profits kept pressure on policymakers even as liquidity support and state-linked buying steadied markets temporarily. By month-end, weaker factory activity and falling iron ore prices showed the slowdown spreading into global commodity expectations.
The United States moved from selective pressure on Brazil to imposing or threatening tariffs across roughly 60 trading partners, sharply widening supply-chain and import-cost risks. A legal challenge to presidential authority added a new constraint, but the broader tariff regime had already raised the market’s trade and inflation concerns.
Indonesia and Turkey entered reviews for possible frontier-market treatment, creating the prospect of mechanical outflows and tighter financing conditions. Senegal’s restructuring then exposed a separate recovery risk, showing how index status and debt repricing could compound pressure on frontier investors.
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