Uncertainty around a quick end to the Middle East war kept investors concerned amidst an extension of President Trump's deadline to April 6. The disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and the spike in crude oil prices lifted rate hike bets and weighed on overall market sentiment.
Wall Street Futures are trading below the flatline as the Middle East conflict spotlighted stagflation risks to the economy. Benchmarks in Europe are also trading deep in the red. Earlier in the day, Asian markets had finished trading on a mixed note.
The dollar index extended gains. Sovereign bond yields hardened across regions and tenors to multi-year highs as investors price in an increasingly hawkish outlook for major central banks.
Amidst war-driven supply concerns, both the crude oil benchmarks are trading with overnight gains of more than 2 percent and monthly gains of around 44 percent. Amongst precious metals, while gold and silver have gained, platinum has declined. Cryptocurrencies have plunged heavily. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 45,724.40, down 0.51% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,441.30, down 0.55%Germany's DAX at 22,264.28, down 1.40% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 9,920.62, down 0.52% France's CAC 40 at 7,700.80, down 0.88%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,491.66, down 1.33% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 53,373.07, down 0.43%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,516.30, down 0.11%China's Shanghai Composite at 3,913.72, up 0.63%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 24,951.88, up 0.38% South Korea's KOSPI at 5,438.87, down 0.40%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1516, down 0.12%GBP/USD at 1.3281, down 0.37%USD/JPY at 159.91, up 0.13%AUD/USD at 0.6885, down 0.09%USD/CAD at 1.3868, up 0.04% Dollar Index at 100.06, up 0.16%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.470%, up 1.18% Germany at 3.1149%, up 1.69%France at 3.866%, up 2.09%U.K. at 5.0690%, up 1.93%Japan at 2.378%, up 4.53%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Jun) at $104.10, up 2.17%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (May) at $96.83, up 2.49%.Gold Futures (Jun) at $4,469.30, up 1.37%. Silver Futures (May) at $68.10, up 0.25%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $66,529.54, down 4.11%Ethereum at $1,985.00, down 4.24%BNB at $610.28, down 3.02%XRP at $1.32, down 3.38%Solana at $83.10, down 5.05%
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Business News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.