The prospect of a surge in inflation related to a ban on Russian oil imports by the European Union (EU) restored sentiment of concern until the stock market slumped while US Treasury yields soared.
The MSCI global equity index that tracks 50 stocks of other countries was down 0.61% while the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.72%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial average index was down 0.67% at 32,990.12, the S&P 500 was down 0.63% at 4,132.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.41% at 12,081.39.
The benchmark 10 -year yield rose 2.8622% to a week -long high with Eurozone inflation concerns rising to a month -long high, in addition to hawkish comments by Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller.
Waller noted that a 50 basis point rate hike will be maintained until a significant reduction is seen, further pushing the Fed’s expectations to pause monetary policy after June and July.
On the other hand, the EU’s decision to cut 90% of Russian oil imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine has made crude oil prices reach new highs.
Oil prices saw a spike following the announcement with benchmark Brent crude up 0.96% at $ 122.84 a barrel, the highest since March 9th.
However, Brent crude was down 1.7% at $ 115.60 a barrel as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reportedly considered suspending a production deal with Russia.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was also down 0.06% at $ 115.02 a barrel.
As for the currency market, the US dollar strengthened again as US treasury yields rose with its index up 0.345% at 101.770 while the Euro fell 0.41% at $ 1.0733.
Commodities saw spot gold fall 1% at $ 1,837.30 an ounce and gold futures fell 0.99% at $ 1,833 an ounce.
