US stocks hit fresh records as oil stabilises on rising supplies
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Stock markets firmed Tuesday with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting record highs in the United States, as oil prices retreated on easing supply worries, which helped temper concerns about rising Government borrowing costs.
On Wall Street, the technology- focused Nasdaq index advanced 0.5 per cent to a new high, coming off a record set on Monday driven by AI enthusiasm.
The S&P 500 also hit a new record after rising 0.6 per cent.
The brisk trading in New York stoked European stock markets, after gains across most Asian equity markets.
Oil prices were subdued as Gulf exports inch back toward pre-war levels, with the international benchmark Brent North Sea crude closing just above the psychological level of US$100 a barrel.
Oil’s decline “gave a boost to interest-rate sensitive stocks including real estate and consumer cyclicals,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, a commodities analyst with Global Risk Management, noted that “Gulf exports excluding Iran averaged 19.2 mb/d in September, equivalent to 81 per cent of pre-war levels” even though Iran is still curtailing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
But he added that “crude exports were back to 91 per cent of pre-war levels, while refined product exports were only around 60 per cent” — a supply cut that has sent fuel costs soaring.
In the United Kingdom, the average diesel price at the pump struck a record high last week, according to official data.
There remains plenty of uncertainty among traders over the Middle East crisis, which is putting pressure on central banks to raise interest rates to combat energy-fueled inflation.
That and other factors have pushed Government bond yields up to levels not seen in decades, heightening worries about ballooning debt.
Analysts say the race to build out AI data centres, servers and chips has compounded that problem, with tech titans no longer able to rely on their vast piles of cash.
Borrowing by firms including Google, Amazon and Microsoft hit around US$500 billion in the nine months since January, and Goldman Sachs expects a further ramp-up in 2027, to US$1.2 trillion.
