Oil rises, stocks dip with Iran, earnings and Fed in focus
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NEW YORK/ PARIS, April 29 : MSCI's global equities gauge fell on Wednesday as oil prices soared on worries about prolonged supply disruption due to the Middle East war while investors were cautious ahead of financial releases from U.S. megacap technology firms and a Federal Reserve policy update.
U.S. crude rose 7.31 per cent to $107.24 a barrel and Brent was up 7.26 per cent at $119.34 after touching its highest point since 2022, with little sign of a resolution two months into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which has snarled energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
A White House official said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump had asked U.S. oil companies about ways to mitigate the impact of a potentially months-long U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier a Wall Street Journal report cited U.S. officials saying Trump instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade.
Meanwhile, in the first official estimate of the military price tag for the Iran conflict, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that the war has cost $25 billion so far.
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The S&P 500 lost ground after a choppy morning while investors waited for earnings reports from market heavyweights Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, due later in the session. The S&P 500 technology sector fell slightly after it pulled back sharply from a record high in the previous session following a report that artificial intelligence company OpenAI had missed internal targets.
"Equity markets are down because oil is spiking, the Fed is in focus with concerns that Powell may give a hawkish tone in his press conference, and worries that big tech earnings this evening may miss elevated expectations and disappoint investors," said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management.
On Wall Street by 1:06 p.m. (1706 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 313.85 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 48,827.31, the S&P 500 fell 18.62 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 7,120.18 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 90.70 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 24,572.37.
CROSS CURRENT
Irene Tunkel, chief strategist and founder of Belsize Park Investment Research, said: "The easy part of buying back the dip from oversold conditions" in late March is now over as "the market has to deal with the reality, which is probably a very long stand-off with Iran."
But despite geopolitical worries, Tunkel said the first-quarter earnings season has been encouraging.
"We have a cross-current," she said. "On the one hand, we have a conflict. On the other hand, earnings that have been rolling in so far have been quite good. Guidance has been quite positive."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 3.75 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 1,065.23.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.6 per cent with mixed corporate results and data pointing to the economic damage caused by the Iran war.
FEDERAL RESERVE
U.S. Treasury yields rose as escalating Iran tensions stoked concerns about elevated energy costs ahead of the Fed's rate decision later in the day.
Traders have been betting that policymakers will keep rates unchanged but investors will watch for Fed commentary on the economic impact of the Iran war after the central bank's April meeting, which is expected to be the last with Jerome Powell at the helm.
Kevin Warsh, Trump's pick to lead the Fed, cleared a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday, opening the way for him to succeed Powell in coming weeks amid the White House's unprecedented efforts to exert control over the world's most powerful central bank.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 4.8 basis points to 4.402 per cent, from 4.354 per cent late on Tuesday while the 30-year bond yield rose 3.1 basis points to 4.975 per cent.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 7 basis points to 3.914 per cent, from 3.844 per cent late on Tuesday.
In currencies, the dollar index hit its highest level against Japan's yen since March 30 and was up 0.44 per cent at 160.32 yen in afternoon trading.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.31 per cent to 98.89, with the euro down 0.25 per cent at $1.1682.
In precious metals, gold was on track for its third straight day of declines after hitting its lowest level since March 31. Spot gold fell 1.03 per cent to $4,546.91 an ounce.
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