US Treasury yields top 5% as Fed hawks loom

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury jumped above 5% amid hawkish expectations for the Federal Reserve. A rise in Brent crude to $107.10 stoked inflation worries and added pressure on gold.

The 10-year yield climbed to 5.02%, a near two-decade high, sparking a fresh wave of selling on global equity markets. Asian indexes fell about 0.7%, European bourses opened in the red, and futures on major US benchmarks extended modest declines. The main driver of the market sell-off is the high probability of another Fed rate hike, signaled earlier by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.

A psychological breach of the 5% yield level substantially changes the risk balance for investors, prompting capital to shift from stocks into safe government debt. A widening US fiscal deficit, record government borrowing and huge corporate issuance to finance AI infrastructure are forcing the market to demand a higher term premium. More details via the link.

Brent's rise to $107.10 fuels inflation fears and pressures gold

Global Brent prices rose 1.4% to $107.10/bbl. The latest rally was driven by mounting geopolitical risks in the Middle East and the continued shutdown of a key Saudi pipeline after a series of attacks. Higher energy costs are again becoming the primary pro-inflationary factor for developed economies, leaving regulators with little room to pause tightening.

Rising oil and higher inflation expectations directly hit precious metals, keeping gold just below $4,300/oz. Higher bond yields reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets and are prompting investors to reassess safe-haven positions. For traders looking to play volatility in commodities and precious metals, oil and metals instruments are available on the InstaForex platform. More details via the link.

Nvidia plans $10 billion anchor investment in record Anthropic IPO

Anthropic, the developer of the Claude neural network, is preparing what could become the largest IPO in history. Insider reports indicate the listing could raise up to $100 billion and value the company at about $2 trillion. Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to act as an anchor investor, planning to commit up to $10 billion to the placement.

Such a move would cement Nvidia's transformation on Wall Street — from a supplier of computer hardware to a strategic financier of the entire AI industry. The anchor commitment follows deepening commercial ties: Anthropic has already contracted tens of billions of dollars of compute capacity based on Nvidia chips. More details via the link.