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Brent crude oil futures jumped 2.7% to $116.26 a barrel – their highest level since early May and on track for a weekly rise of more than 10%.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Rob Wood , chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, says the biggest news is from S&P’s PMI data is the composite employment index rising above 50 for the first time since the 2024 budget. He said: The jobs balance rose to 50.5 from 48.9 in September, consistent with a 9K month-to-month payrolls gain in October. Solid growth is helping, probably alongside an easing drag from the payroll-tax hike. …The steady recovery in jobs growth further undermines any case for waiting to hike rates. A November rate hike is a shoo-in, and we expect another rone in February. We are very close to adding a third hike in May or earlier. It’s a really close call, but at the margin, we hold off after weak consumer signals this morning. It would take little—small further energy price rises, a hawkish DMP—to push us to three hikes. There are reports of paused spending due to a lack of clarity on domestic economic policy in the run up to the budget, meaning the promising economic picture from the latest PMIs should provide an encouraging base for further robust economic growth through the winter months, barring any adverse surprises to businesses in the tax and spending review. Geopolitics, and notably the potential for conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine to add to energy market volatility, are, however, clearly still unsettling many businesses, and cost of living concerns and broader fiscal worries are being compounded by the shift to higher borrowing costs. Continue reading...

Datacenter and chip costs fueled sharp decrease in AI sector although non-AI stocks still had a strong showing The latest shudder for stocks in the AI industry pulled markets lower worldwide on Thursday, while oil prices hit their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran . The S&P 500 fell 1.2% for its worst day since July, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6%. The weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the US market, in which the majority of stocks actually rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 11 points, or less than 0.1%. Continue reading...

Drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry are dragging markets down worldwide on Thursday, while oil prices hit their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran.

U.S. equity markets sold off sharply as fears that Israel and the U.S. would attack Iran sent oil prices higher, while stocks failed to hold onto recent gains.

Nasdaq futures fell nearly 2% Thursday as growth stocks came under renewed pressure after earnings from mega-caps Tesla and Meta did little to dispel doubts about the AI outlook, while a rebound in oil prices added to market jitters.