Global Stocks Rise as Oil Prices Drop and Wall Street Gains Momentum

Global stock markets showed mostly positive movements on Tuesday, building on Wall Street’s strong performance from the previous day. Premarket trading indicated gains across major indices, with S&P 500 futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbing 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures also rising 0.6%. These gains came as oil prices dropped to their lowest levels in over a month, providing some relief to investors.

Brent crude fell $1.99 to $98.33 per barrel, dipping below the $100 mark, though it remained significantly higher than the roughly $72 per barrel seen in late February. Analysts noted that while oil flows from the Persian Gulf are showing signs of recovery, geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to keep prices elevated. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields remained near multi-decade highs, with the 10-year yield easing slightly to around 5.26% after briefly reaching 5.35%, its highest level since 2002.

Investors are closely watching for higher returns on government bonds amid rising inflationary pressures, partly driven by the energy shock from the Iran war and the U.S. national debt surpassing $40 trillion. The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its September meeting, set to be released on Wednesday, are also drawing significant attention, as the central bank recently raised benchmark interest rates for the first time in three years.

In European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX each rose 0.6%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.1% to 70,683.98, marking its first close above 70,000 since early July. South Korea’s Kospi, however, lost 0.9% to 6,941.39, with technology-related stocks experiencing volatility. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1% to 24,280.56, while markets in mainland China remained closed for a national holiday.