The key facts

  • Brent rose about 1% to above $107 per barrel, WTI gained 0.5% to $94.64
  • Saudi Arabia reported an attack on an Aramco building and four people injured in Riyadh by debris from intercepted Houthi rockets
  • Dutch TTF gas futures traded just above €86 per MWh — a four-year high

Oil and Gas Rise Amid Attacks on Vessels and Conflict on the Arabian Peninsula

Oil prices rose in early trading on Wednesday after reports that Iran attacked two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, using new tactics against maritime shipping, Reuters reported. Brent futures gained about 1%, rising above $107 per barrel in the European morning, while WTI futures added 0.5% to $94.64 per barrel. An additional risk to oil supplies came from the escalating conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia: Riyadh reported that an attack on an Aramco building in the east of the kingdom caused a 'limited fire', and debris from intercepted Houthi rockets injured four people in the capital. Supply concerns also pushed European gas prices to a four-year high: Dutch TTF futures traded just above €86 per megawatt-hour, slightly below the previous peak of €87.44.

European Indices Open Higher, Asian Trading Mixed

Europe opened in positive territory: the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.3%, the Stoxx 600 gained 0.2%. The FTSE 100, CAC 40, DAX, FTSE MIB, IBEX 35 and AEX indices added between 0.1% and 0.6%; the CAC 40 (+0.5%) and IBEX 35 (+0.6%) led. In Asia, the picture was mixed: the Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng rose 0.5%, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3%, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%, and the Kospi dropped 1%. Interest in chipmakers and artificial intelligence continued to support some stocks: Chinese memory chip maker CXMT rose about 1%, Samsung Electronics shares gained, while SK Hynix declined.

Wall Street Near Records, Earnings Beat Expectations

Major Wall Street indices ended Tuesday's trading nearly unchanged near record levels. The first major series of third-quarter earnings reports from US companies beat analysts' expectations, though gains and losses in individual stocks ultimately offset each other. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, retreating slightly from last week's all-time high, the Dow Jones lost 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. Goldman Sachs shares jumped more than 4% at the start of trading after a July–September profit report that significantly exceeded forecasts, but then gave up the gains and closed down 0.2%. According to FactSet, analysts forecast aggregate annual profit growth for S&P 500 companies of nearly 30% in the third quarter — companies must justify these expectations to validate record valuations amid high inflation, debt market pressure and Middle East conflicts. Investors are also concerned that chipmaker stocks may have risen too high on the wave of AI enthusiasm.

Bonds and Currencies

US Treasury yields declined slightly on Tuesday. The yield on 10-year bonds fell to 5.21% from 5.24% at the end of Friday; Treasury trading in the US was not held on Monday due to a holiday. In the currency market, the US dollar traded at 158.30 yen, and the euro stood at $1.1209.