MARKET WRAPS
Stocks:
Shares were lower Monday as oil prices remained elevated and investors increasingly priced in extended U.S-Iran tensions.
Stocks faltered at open and airlines slumped
after Ryanair warned of weaker-than-expected summer pricing trends.
In London, big oil and tobacco were rising, keeping the FTSE in the green, and in Germany, Infineon was helping the DAX.
Eurozone government bond yields rose, briefly taking the 10-year Bund yield to its highest since 2011.
"Government bond yields are rising across the U.S., U.K., Europe and Japan as investors reassess inflation risks, higher energy prices, political uncertainty and growing fiscal pressure," eToro said.
"The move higher in yields suggests markets are increasingly accepting a 'higher-for-longer' interest rate environment."
Questar Capital Partners said that "The stock market is coming to the sudden realization that new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh may need to raise rates rather than lower them, and the market hates that."
Traders think there's a 54% chance that the central bank raises borrowing costs at least once by the end of the year, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
A week ago, the odds of that happening stood at less than 1%.
Looking ahead, Warsh has also promised a different Fed communications approach, which could lead to more investor uncertainty and market volatility.
U.S. Markets:
Stock futures lower early, as investors continued to worry about higher inflation, with seemingly no progress in peace talks with Iran.
Forex:
The euro rose against the dollar and ING said any further selloff in long-dated bonds would drive the euro down to $1.1570.
"High energy prices and now higher long-dated interest rates are a headwind to growth."
The risk of the European Central Bank looking through a temporary inflation spike could hit the long end of the bond market, it added.
The ECB therefore needs to continue to signal potential rate rises, it said.
The dollar eased only slightly after reaching a near six-week high .
Trump told Iran the "clock is ticking" and suggested renewed strikes if a deal isn't reached soon.
Sterling rose against the dollar, but was at risk of renewed losses as U.K. political uncertainty could persist for some time, ING said.
Bonds:
Eurozone government bond yields rose, at one point taking the 10-year Bund yield to its highest since 2011.
Treasury yields rose- -extending Friday's moves--with no end to the Middle East conflict in sight.
Oil prices were under pressure to rise, adding to inflation concerns and fortifying market expectations of a rate hike by the Fed this year.
"There has been a dramatic shift in the expectations for U.S. monetary policy as the market are now pricing in a hike in 2026," Danske Bank said.
Goldman Sachs said that Treasurys had been a poor diversifier since the end of February.
RBC BlueBay Asset Management continued to favor inflation-linked bonds, but it hadn't really strong views on market direction and curve shape with respect to Bunds and Treasurys.
Morgan Stanley said the intermediate segment of the Japanese government bond curve was expected to outperform as market focus shifts from inflation to growth, adding it expects the 10-year JGB yield to fall to 2.1% by 4Q 2026.
Energy:
Oil trimmed gains , though stalled efforts to end the Iran war and escalating tensions in the Middle East kept the risk premium high.
Benchmarks spiked earlier after a drone strike set off a fire near a nuclear-power station in the U.A.E. over the weekend.
"The oil market continues to reprice ongoing supply disruptions, with last week's Trump-Xi talks yielding no tangible progress in the Middle East," ING said.
"If anything, re-escalation risks are increasing."
Meanwhile, the U.S. allowed a sanctions waiver that allowed countries to buy Russian seaborne oil to lapse, despite tightening market conditions.
Gas
European natural-gas prices broke above 50 euros a megawatt-hour as traders saw little sign of a resolution in the Middle East.
"We have highlighted several times that the gas market is underpricing the scale of the supply impact from the Persian Gulf," ING said.
"Asian buyers will need to enter the spot market to replace disrupted contracted cargoes from the Persian Gulf, increasing competition between Asian and European buyers."
Storage across the EU was at 36% of capacity, significantly below the five-year average of 50%.
Metals:
Gold prices fell as stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks continued to fuel inflation concerns.
"The lack of progress toward a U.S.-Iran agreement and renewed threats from President Trump against Iran lifted oil prices further, increasing expectations that central banks may keep interest rates elevated or even raise them," MUFG said.
Traders will now focus on the release of Fed meeting minutes for more clues on the rate outlook.
EMEA HEADLINES
Anglo American to Sell Australian Steelmaking Coal Assets for Up to $3.875 Billion
Anglo American said it agreed to sell steelmaking coal assets in Australia to mining company Dhilmar for up to $3.875 billion in cash, pushing to simplify its portfolio ahead of a merger with Teck Resources.
The deal with privately held Dhilmar comprises a $2.3 billion upfront cash payment, and up to $1.575 billion in price-related additional fees. London-listed Anglo said it will use the cash proceeds to pay down net debt.
Swiss Economy Expands Again
Switzerland's economy continued to grow in the first quarter of 2026, but the war in Iran threatens to derail the country's recovery in the coming months.
Gross domestic product expanded 0.5% in the three months through March, furthering the 0.2% expansion during the final quarter of 2025, Switzerland's statistics office said Monday.
AstraZeneca Gets U.S. Approval for Hypertension Drug
AstraZeneca said it received U.S. approval for a new hypertension treatment, getting the green light to launch a drug the U.K. pharmaceutical company expects to generate multibillion-dollar annual sales at its peak.
The drug, known until now as baxdrostat, will be marketed under the brand name Baxfendy, the company said Monday. The approval expands AstraZeneca's cardiovascular, renal and metabolism portfolio shortly after diabetes drug Farxiga-its biggest product in that therapeutic area and the bestselling medicine in the company's history-went off patent in the U.S.
Activist Elliott Builds Big Stake in Life-Science Tools Supplier Bio-Rad
Activist Elliott Investment Management has built a sizable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories and plans to push the supplier of life-science tools and diagnostics products to boost its underperforming stock price, according to people familiar with the matter.
GLOBAL NEWS
China's Economy Unexpectedly Weakens
BEIJING-China's economic momentum slowed broadly in April, underscoring persistent areas of weakness in the world's second-largest economy, even as exports continue to climb.
A gauge of consumer spending decelerated to its slowest growth since 2022. Industrial output, investment and the real-estate sector all showed signs of deterioration, undershooting economists' expectations.
China Says It Has Agreed With U.S. to Set Up Trade and Investment Bodies
BEIJING-China said Saturday that it had agreed with the U.S. to establish bilateral boards of trade and investment, fulfilling one expected outcome of President Trump's visit to Beijing and solidifying a commercial truce between the world's two largest economies.
China's Ministry of Commerce, in a statement published late Saturday in Beijing, also said that the U.S. had agreed to sell aircraft, aircraft engines and aircraft components to China, addressing one notable area in which the country continues to lag behind the U.S.
Four Rare-Earth Mines Rule the Industry. Why More Are Needed in the Age of AI.
Rare earth metals are on the minds of all investors these days, and for good reason. Recent trade tensions have put China's rare-earth monopoly into stark relief. And the rise of physical AI applications, such as robots, promises to accelerate demand for the materials used in everything from iPhones to fighter jets.
That setup has investors pouring billions into non-Chinese rare earth projects. Sifting through JORC or 43-101 reports, which detail mine specs, isn't easy for a mining engineer, let alone investors sitting atop the New York City skyline. Understanding what any upstarts are up against can help, though.
The World Can't Get Enough U.S. Energy, Keeping Prices High for Americans
The world is making a run on U.S. energy, setting American motorists and foreign buyers on a collision course.
President Trump and his administration have successfully talked down and taken measures to contain American energy prices. That, combined with the fact that the country has a huge surplus, has prompted overseas buyers to buy huge volumes of U.S. oil, gasoline, jet fuel and other products they aren't getting from the Middle East. U.S. oil prices settled Friday at $105.42 a barrel, down more than $7 from last month's high.
U.S. Airstrikes Kill About 20 Islamic State Fighters in Nigeria
NAIROBI-U.S. forces killed an estimated 20 Islamic State militants in a hotly contested corner of Nigeria, days after an operation that killed the group's No. 2, U.S. and Nigerian officials said Monday.
The U.S. airstrikes, near the northeastern village of Metele, were the result of close intelligence sharing between the Nigerian and American militaries, according to officials.
WHO Declares Global Health Emergency After Ebola Outbreak in Congo
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, warning that the epidemic could still be spreading undetected.
Around 80 deaths and over 200 possible cases have been recorded so far, including four deaths among health workers, the United Nations health agency said.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 18, 2026 05:06 ET (09:06 GMT)
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