562 stories from 13 sources
The week in Global Markets
Click on a headline to see stories that shaped it.
Threads
8 threads
AI concentration first pushed US indexes to records, then spread valuation risk across Asian markets and narrowed regional participation. Investors increasingly questioned the trade's earnings, leverage and financing assumptions as Korean and other AI-linked equities lost conviction.
The RBI moved from its first rate increase in years to direct dollar intervention, tighter derivatives rules, and stricter liquidity measures. The actions supported the rupee temporarily but raised funding and reserve costs while leaving the currency exposed to oil, foreign outflows and high US yields.
Bond selling spread from the United States to Europe and intensified into forced deleveraging in Treasury futures. High yields attracted some buyers, but fiscal concerns, mortgage hedging and limited policy support kept pressure elevated.
French yields moved above 5% and the spread over German debt reached an extreme as fiscal and political risks intensified. Some investors began buying the selloff, but higher borrowing costs continued to constrain France and weigh on the euro and wider European finances.
Research across two days attributed nearly 3% of price increases in popular goods to tariffs, making trade policy a continuing obstacle to disinflation and rate cuts. The widening trade deficit also undercut the claim that tariffs would quickly improve trade flows.
Renewed Middle East tensions pushed oil higher and spread from energy markets into stocks. The shock raised both inflation and growth risks, while strategic-reserve expectations only moderated the immediate price response.
High yields increased corporate borrowing costs while hedge-fund leverage expanded outside traditional bank balance sheets. Banks then lost some benefit from higher rates and deal activity slowed, showing that tighter conditions were reaching financing and refinancing decisions.
China relied on tax support for exports and proposed infrastructure to offset weak domestic and property demand. Rising central-government interest costs now limit broad borrowing-led stimulus and increase the need for targeted measures and structural reform.
Day’s Recap