Global financial markets on September 14 witnessed mixed developments as oil prices escalated due to concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East, while stock exchanges sank into red due to a wave of technology stock sell-offs and interest rate pressures.
In the first trading session of the week, both standard crude oils Brent and WTI, which were currently hovering at a high level above 100 USD/barrel, simultaneously increased by more than 3% at one point. Specifically, Brent oil advanced 2.6% to 107.28 USD/barrel, while WTI oil increased 2.7% to 102.72 USD/barrel.
Supply pressure increased after Saudi Arabia was forced to temporarily suspend the operation of the East-West pipeline due to drone attacks by Houthi forces in Yemen. At the same time, a commercial ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, while Houthi forces tightened control of the key Bab al Mandab strait connecting Asia and Europe.
The upward momentum of energy prices continues to push global inflation high right before this week's policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed). All eyes are currently on this meeting, as the market is currently forecast to have a 92% chance that the Fed will tighten monetary policy and raise interest rates to control prices.
The week before, the European Central Bank raised interest rates, followed by market concerns that a wave of monetary tightening would continue. This weighed heavily on stock exchanges, especially technology businesses that are burdened with large debts to finance huge AI projects.
The prospect of increased borrowing costs combined with technology safety warnings has sparked a wave of technology stock sell-offs in Asia.
Leaders of leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Sam Altman of OpenAI and billionaire Elon Musk have all publicly called for slowing down the pace of AI development to control existing risks to humanity.
In Asia, SoftBank's stock fell more than 12%, chip manufacturers such as Kioxia, SK hynix, Samsung and TSMC simultaneously fell sharply, dragging the Nikkei 225, Kospi and Shanghai exchange indices into red.
