Financial Markets Daily Report
23 October 2026
Thursday's session carried a distinctly risk-off tone, driven by tensions in the Middle East and AI investor concerns. Brent oil surged on Saudi Arabian supply disruption fears, and TTF gas rose in tandem with oil prices. Stock markets declined across the board, further dragged by a selloff in technology equities.
Safe-haven flows drove U.S. and German sovereign yields sharply lower (10-year Treasury yields fell by more than 15bp and closed below 5% for the first time in a month). Euro area peripheral spreads widened, with France's risk premium breaching the 170bp threshold. The dollar softened modestly, the yen strengthened, and the euro continued to trade around $1.12.
On the data front, euro area consumer confidence declined in October to -17.9 points (its lowest level in five months). Today, the focus will be on the release of preliminary October PMI figures in the major advanced economies, as well as the University of Michigan's U.S. consumer sentiment index.