Finance

Oil prices retreated with benchmark Brent crude slipping under the $100 mark and West Texas Intermediate futures dropping to around $92 a barrel. The downturn was fueled by reports that negotiators are discussing a phased arrangement to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz. However, the market continues to balance these easing tensions against fresh supply risks, including Houthi attacks targeting infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

The global bond selloff paused at the end of the week, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield settling down slightly to 5.18% after touching higher intraday levels. Easing oil prices provided some respite, while cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials indicated that future monetary policy steps remain data-dependent rather than on autopilot. Despite the late-week breather, yields finished the week substantially higher, hovering near 19-year closing highs.

Digital assets experienced mixed momentum with Bitcoin trading near the $84,000 threshold and Ethereum hovering around $2,700. The broader crypto market faced headwinds after the Bitget exchange suffered a major security breach resulting in roughly $350 million in stolen funds. The security incident dampened market sentiment even as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to pull in positive net inflows led by BlackRock's IBIT.