S7 Brief

BoE Governor Bailey said the market's BoE rate curve reflects investor concern about further energy price rises.

• The RBNZ delivered a 25bp rate hike this week but paired it with dovish forward guidance, while the BoC held rates and used more hawkish language.The RBNZ tightened policy but signaled a slower pace ahead, softening the hawkish impact of the hike. This dovish tilt could limit further NZD support even though the central bank kept raising rates.
• Oil prices approached $100 amid Houthi attacks and U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers, while European natural gas rose to €75 per MWh ($25.5/MMBtu), the highest since 2022.Attacks on tankers and Houthi strikes are pushing crude toward a key $100 level, signaling supply risk from the conflict is intensifying. Rising European gas prices alongside oil suggest the disruption is hitting broader energy markets, not just crude.
• Shortly after market open, the Dow fell 429.11 points (0.80%) to 52,985.14 while the Nasdaq rose 27.79 points (0.11%) to 26,534.78 and the S&P 500 slipped 6.66 points (0.09%) to 7,711.94.The Dow is underperforming while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are little changed, showing the early weakness is concentrated rather than broad-based.