Public Markets 8-Hour Briefing
×Energy & Commodities
Oilfutures dropped 1.3% in early Asian trade after OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340 as a weakening dollar offset risk-on sentiment. A surge in aluminum prices pushed China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Palm oil futures fell more than 4% at the open in Malaysia, tracking a slump in crude oil prices after President Trump said the war in the Middle East may end soon, and aluminum extended its retreat from a four-year high on similar concerns. Meanwhile, sufficient cool heads are pulling back from the brink, sentiment driving the market gyrations, with Asia and Europe most exposed to the volatility.
Fixed Income
Japanese government bonds extended gains tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut, and U.S. airline bonds weakened after jet fuel costs spiked 8% on Middle East supply fears. Chicago's planned muni bond sale is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty, while China's yield curve hit its steepest level in four years on oil jitters, and JGBs rose, tracking Treasury gains. The cost of credit protection fell by the most in over eight months in Asia, after President Trump signaled the Iran war may be nearing an end, and China raised crude imports to guard against supply disruptions.
Equity Markets
China's enthusiasm for Open Claw ignited a stock rally in local technology firms moving swiftly to embrace the open-source AI program, with Tencent and Zhipu shares jumping. The Iran conflict continues to cast uncertainty over oil prices, Capital Economics noted, while Asia private credit chases gains as stress mounts for US peers. Singapore's dollar remained steady against its US counterpart in the Asian session, and Japanese stocks rebounded as a fall in oil prices eased some concerns around the Middle East conflict. Air Asia X Bhd paid a steep price for its wrong-way bet on jet fuel, with management's decision not to hedge when oil was cheap backfiring after the Iran war, and China's exports soared 22% before the Middle East war broke out, putting shipments on a record path. The U.S. solar installations fell 14% in 2025 as Trump attacked clean energy, and Crops swung to losses alongside a slump in crude oil after Trump signaled a possible end to the Iran war.