📈 Global Markets Wobble on Mideast Hostilities and AI Jitters

A resurgence in Middle East fighting and renewed U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil have disrupted global markets, driving energy costs up while pulling bond and equity markets down. • Energy & Inflation Risk: Brent crude futures climbed 2% to US$ 75.60 a barrel. While below historic war peaks, the rise creates immediate inflation risks for oil-importing nations, worsened by U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve stocks hitting their lowest levels since 1983. • Bond Market Pressures: Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields rose 3 basis points to a one-month high of 4.565% as investors factor back in a geopolitical risk premium. • Currencies: The U.S. dollar remained firm, pushing the Euro back to US$ 1.14 and climbing past 162 Yen, increasing the likelihood of Japanese market intervention. • Tech & Equity Pullback: The global AI-driven stock rally slowed. Despite flagging a 19-fold profit increase, Samsung Electronics fell up to 7%, dragging South Korea's chip-heavy market down 1.5% and pulling the Philadelphia semiconductor benchmark down 4.6% due to short-term profit-taking. _Context for Sri Lanka_: Rising global oil prices and a strengthening U.S. dollar typically pressure local fuel pricing, import costs, and foreign reserves, keeping pressure on key industrial inputs for domestic manufacturing.