Crude oil climbed toward $95 per barrel on Wednesday, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains as escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensified concerns over Middle East supply disruptions. On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi militants struck Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, with a missile attack that sparked a fire in part of the complex. The rebels also targeted Riyadh’s main airport over the weekend, while a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to retake rebel-controlled territory in Yemen. Meanwhile, Tehran has intensified attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, although the US said it had helped facilitate the passage of more than 19 million barrels of crude through the strategic waterway. In Europe, President Trump defended his diesel export agreement with Russia, stating that the additional supplies would enter the global market and help ease elevated prices.

US stock indices closed lower on Tuesday as many semiconductor heavyweights extended their recent losses. The S&P 500 ended near the flatline, while the Dow shed 180 points and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. China’s CXMT advanced a new memory architecture, threatening US and South Korean rivals. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan also warned that excessive AI lab spending could deliver poor returns, sending Micron (-4.6%), SanDisk (-1.7%), Lam Research (-3.2%) and Applied Materials (-7.2%) lower. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson sank 5.6% on weaker sales, while UnitedHealth gained edged 0.3% lower despite upgrading its profit outlook. Financial stocks posted mixed results. Citigroup fell 5.3% despite strong revenue, and Wells Fargo slipped 2.6% following its earnings report. Goldman Sachs shed 0.1% despite stronger equity-trading revenue, while JPMorgan edged 0.3% lower as weaker fixed-income trading and higher costs offset an increase in its net interest income forecast.

The IMF raised its 2026 global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1%, with growth projected to rebound to 3.4% in 2027, according to its October 2026 World Economic Outlook. Resilient advanced economies and increased AI investment underpin the upgrade, although growth is expected to slow from 3.5% in 2025 as high energy prices linked to the US–Iran war pose significant risks, particularly for low-income countries and energy-importing economies. US growth is forecast at 2.3% in both 2026 and 2027, while China’s expansion is expected to slow to 4.5% and 4.0%, respectively, largely due to weak domestic demand. Japan’s economy is forecast to expand by 0.7% in both years, while India is projected to grow by 7.0% annually over the same period. Eurozone growth is expected to ease to 1.1% this year before recovering to 1.2% in 2027, amid high energy costs and weak consumer confidence. The UK’s 2026 forecast was raised to 1.3%, while its 2027 outlook was lowered to 1.2%.

Existing home sales in the United States rose by 1.5% from the two-year low in the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.99 million units in September of 2026, not too far from market expectations of 3.95 million. Total housing inventory reached 1.6 million units with the increase, 1.9% higher than the previous month to represent 4.8 months of supply under the latest sales rate. Sales recovered slightly in the South (2.8% to 1.86 million) and the West (2.8% to 0.73 million), offsetting a drop in the Northeast (-2.1% to 0.47 million) and a stall in the Midwest (at 0.93 million). “Despite the small monthly gain on a seasonally adjusted basis, August and September marked the two slowest months for home sales this year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify to purchase a home.”

The US NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 97.9 in September 2026, the lowest in three months, from 98.7 in August and roughly in line with forecasts of 98. Of the 10 Index components, three rose, six fell, and one stayed unchanged. The Index declined mainly as businesses became less optimistic about future conditions and fewer firms considered it a good time to expand. Reports of labor quality or availability as owners’ single most important problem rose 3 points to 26%, making it the top reported issue for the third consecutive month. The second top issue was inflation, with 20% of owners reporting it as their single most important problem, up 4 points from August. "Small business owners are proceeding with caution as they interpret how rising costs, interest rates, and the difficulty in finding qualified employees are impacting their business”, said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.

European natural gas prices climbed to €86 per megawatt-hour on Tuesday, reaching their highest level since December 2022 as concerns over limited supplies and low storage levels intensified ahead of winter. Gas facilities across Europe are currently 73.75% full, leaving inventories well below typical levels for this time of year. Forecasts for colder weather in northwestern Europe from next weekend could further increase heating demand, putting additional pressure on already limited reserves. With storage levels lower than in previous years, the market remains particularly vulnerable to sudden temperature changes or unexpected supply disruptions. Stronger European demand could also intensify competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in the global market. Meanwhile, escalating tensions in the Middle East have driven North Asian LNG prices to nearly three times their pre-conflict levels, increasing competition between Asian and European buyers for available shipments.