On Tuesday, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated once again, the U.S. Dollar Index continued to strengthen throughout the day, eventually closing up 0.24% at 99.65;The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed up 4.7 basis points at 4.803%, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield—which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate—closed up 5.6 basis points at 4.410%.
Pressured by high U.S. Treasury yields and a stronger dollar, spot gold fluctuated lower, falling to around $4,320—a drop of more than $100 from its intraday high—and ultimately closed down 2.7% at $4,328.78 per ounce;Spot silver followed gold lower, ultimately closing down 3.72% at $64.07 per ounce.
Crude oil surged more than 4% amid intensifying market concerns over global supply disruptions.WTI crude oil continued to rise throughout the day, briefly approaching the $90 mark, and ultimately closed up 4.65% at $89.37 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed up 4.51% at $94.41 per barrel.
The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower,with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.79%, the S&P 500 down 0.7%, and the Nasdaq down 1.03%. Oracle (ORCL.N) fell 5%, while Micron Technology (MU.O) and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) each fell more than 2%,Apple (AAPL.O) rose 2%, while Dell (DELL.N) fell 7%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 0.34%, with Gaotu (GOTU.N) rising 13% and NIO (NIO.N) falling 4%.
Major European stock indices closed lower across the board, with Germany’s DAX 30 index down 1.1%, the UK’s FTSE 100 index down 0.32%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index down 0.8%.