Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Brent crude drops back to $60 a barrel
The stock market rally that had pushed up shares at the end of 2025 and the start of this year is faltering today.
European markets are mixed this morning, after losses in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, as investors fret about rising geopolitical tensions.
The global stock market rally that has taken financial markets by storm in recent days has lost momentum as we move through the week. Asian stocks fell by more than 1%, commodities are also lower, with gold, oil and siler all falling.
There are a few themes that are driving price action today, firstly Japan and China tensions weighed on shares in the two countries as China announced new export controls on Japan, after comments from Tokyo about Taiwan, which angered Beijing. This fallout caused the Nikkei to fall more than 1% and the Hang Seng was also lower by a similar amount.
