Finance

Energy prices experienced a modest relief sell-off after the U.S. administration signaled it would avoid immediate military escalation with Iran before the upcoming midterm elections. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped to roughly $90.26 per barrel, while Brent crude eased back toward the $102 mark. Despite the temporary pullback, energy sectors had previously seen substantial gains due to ongoing traffic restrictions across the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. government bond yields experienced a brief contraction after an aggressive, weeks-long multi-decade rally. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped back down to approximately 5.23%, providing a buffer for corporate equity valuations. Investors continue to monitor macroeconomic prints as deteriorating labor and core inflation data downshift expectations for near-term Federal Reserve monetary adjustments.

The broader digital asset landscape witnessed severe liquidations, driving Bitcoin's market capitalization dominance close to 60%. While Bitcoin dropped under short-term selling pressure to sit near $81,700, major alternative protocols suffered steeper drops between 5.5% and 14%. The divergence led to over $1 billion in total leverage liquidations across trading desks, with Ethereum experiencing notable underperformance.