Finance

Global energy costs jumped as Brent crude oil futures briefly crossed the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time in two months. The commodity surge is driven by claims of military strikes targeting Saudi oil tankers alongside escalating warfare in the Middle East. Ongoing blockades near vital oceanic transit channels like the Strait of Hormuz continue to imperil a sizable portion of the global oil supply.

U.S. government bonds experienced a major sell-off, driving the 10-year Treasury yield up to an 18-month intraday high of more than 4.71%. Investors are selling off fixed-income assets out of fear that surging energy prices will trigger sticky, reaccelerating inflation. The rapid upward movement in yields threatens to prompt central banks like the Federal Reserve to maintain or increase interest rates.

Shares of Alphabet and Tesla faced intense downward pressure during morning trading following their quarterly earnings releases. Despite certain revenue successes, investors grew concerned over Alphabet's aggressive upward projections for artificial intelligence capital infrastructure spending. Concurrently, Tesla hit market turbulence after missing Wall Street's earnings per share estimates and signaling its own massive upcoming spending year.