Oil Price Surge Sends US Stock Futures Down
US stock futures dipped in thin trading on August 31st as oil prices jumped due to renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 futures fell by 0.3% and Europe's Stoxx 600 remained little changed. Brent crude traded near $91 a barrel after the US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in about a month.
Treasury yields dipped, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries remaining at 4.72%. However, bond investors at ABN Amro Investment Solutions and Brandywine Global Investment Management expressed skepticism over higher interest rates, citing Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's recent speech at Jackson Hole.
Warsh described rates as the Fed's 'predominant tool' for achieving its mandate but stopped short of signaling support for a hike in September. Swaps data compiled by Bloomberg shows traders have increased their bets on higher interest rates, with about a 60% chance of a hike next month, up from around 34% before Warsh spoke.
The yen slid below 160, a level that previously signaled authorities may step in to support the currency. Shein Global Holdings Ltd.'s IPO in Hong Kong raised $1.7 billion, but its shares fell as much as 17% in gray market trading.