U.S. futures are mixed to start October as Brent crude creeps back above $100 a barrel and bond yields soar.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% on Thursday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.6%.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.1% to $100.10 a barrel. Oil topped $100 a barrel in early September when fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalated. That was the first time Brent crude had passed $100 a barrel since July. Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.5% to $91.78 a barrel.
Oil prices have been swinging wildly in recent months amid uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the flow of crude to be fully restored. Iranian officials indicated Wednesday they have received an official U.S. response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the seven-month war. The officials did not say what the latest response contained and whether it was a rejection.
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly rejected Iran’s proposal just days earlier to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the U.S. meets certain conditions.
That is part of the reason longer-term yields are rising in the bond market, but there are also worries about the big debt loads that Washington and other governments worldwide are taking on.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 5.3% on Thursday and the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield is at 5.65%, both reaching levels not seen since 2002.
Shares of Alphabet are up more than 2% before the market open after Google's parent company unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, Gemini 4 Argon. And Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. announced that it will be spinning off its New York Rangers business from its New York Knicks business. That transaction is expected to be completed on Oct. 26. Its shares are up slightly.
In Europe, France's CAC 40 declined 1.2% to 7,369.56, while the German DAX fell slightly to 25,064.67. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1.3% to 10,470.72. Some Asian markets were higher. Hong Kong and Shanghai markets were closed for a national holiday.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.18 Japanese yen from 157.33 yen. The euro cost $1.1294, down from $1.1334.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
