Oil stole the session. Brent (UKOil) leapt 7.35% to $87.58 and US crude added 3.4% to $83.64, both stretching their one-month gains past 21% even as the weekly picture stays negative.
The move ran against a heavy tone in US equities, where the major benchmarks closed the day sharply lower.
Indices
The Nasdaq 100 led the decline, off 2.87% to 27,150 and now down 4.8% on the week. The Dow shed 2.23% and the S&P 500 fell 2.02% to 7,309.
Europe was softer but calmer: the IBEX 35 dropped 1.93%, the Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 1.11% and the DAX eased 0.93%. The Nikkei 225 was the standout laggard overnight, down 2.78% and 6.74% lower on the week.
Hong Kong bucked the trend, with the Hang Seng up 1.64% and holding a 12.66% monthly gain.
Currencies
The dollar leaked lower across the board. EUR/USD rose 0.67% to 1.1462 and GBP/USD added 0.54% to 1.3357.
The greenback’s softness was clearest against the Nordics: USD/NOK fell 1.33% and USD/SEK slipped 0.67%. USD/CHF dropped 0.75% and USD/CAD eased 0.46%, aided by the crude bid.
The Aussie was the weak spot, with EUR/AUD up 0.98% and GBP/AUD gaining 0.88%.
Metals and Crypto
Gold firmed 1.05% to $4,067, and silver added 0.69% to $57.61. (A -39% print on the thin XAUSGD cross looks like a feed glitch rather than a market move.)
Crypto skewed red. Bitcoin Cash led the drop at -3.74%, with GRT off 3.31% and Litecoin down 3.19%. Bitcoin itself held up better, down 0.56% to $63,484, while UNI bucked the group with a 2.45% gain.
The US megacap tech complex remains the session’s weak spot heading into the next open.
