Oil surges past $90 as US-Iran strikes push markets into a rate-hike scare

US crude settled $4.46 higher at $90.22 and Brent cleared $94 after US-Iran military exchanges, while the S&P 500 fell 0.71% and gold and bitcoin sold off as Treasury yields climbed

Deepakshi

Kristal Research & Marketing team

2 Sept2 min

Key takeaways — AI summary

US forces struck Revolutionary Guard targets inside Iran after two supertankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz; Iran retaliated with 13 ballistic missiles at Jordan (10 intercepted) and drones at Bahrain and the UAE. US oil settled $4.46 higher at $90.22 a barrel and Brent cleared $94, later trading near $96.
The S&P 500 fell 0.71% to 7,632 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.29% to 29,077; Consumer Discretionary was worst at -1.89% while Energy rose 1.54%, the only real gainer.
Gold and bitcoin both fell despite the escalation, signalling a rates trade rather than a fear trade: the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.794%, the 2-year hit a year-high 4.392%, Japan's 10-year touched 3% for the first time since 1996, and UK yields reached 2008 levels.
Fed Governor Michael Barr said a rate hike may be warranted if inflation does not moderate; futures now price roughly 40bp of increases by December (up from about 25 before Jackson Hole), with two-in-three odds of a September move, and Deutsche Bank said a hike is now its base case.
After hours, Dell rose 10% after lifting full-year profit guidance to $25.50 per share from $17.90 and pegging AI-server revenue at $74 billion; MongoDB fell 13% as Atlas grew 29%, short of the 30%-plus expected.

Generated by Kristal AI · reviewed by the research desk

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