STOCKS ROUT DEEPENS AS ENERGY PRICE SPIKE REKINDLES INFLATION FEARS

GLOBAL MARKETS

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A man looks at an electronic board displaying sector performances related to Nik-kei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, May 13, 2025.

(Reuters)

A selloff in stocks deepened and the dollar strengthened on Tuesday, as widening conflict in the Middle East fuelled a spike in energy prices that raised investor concern about the impact on the global economy.

Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index fell 2.7 percent in early trading - on track for its biggest daily decline since April - following a 1.7 percent drop on Monday.

US S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 1.6 percent, suggesting the selloff may engulf Wall Street later following a volatile session on Monday that saw the S&P 500 rally from an early decline to close flat and the Nasdaq Compositeclimb 0.4 percent.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump sought to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran, saying the campaign was ahead of expectations.

Front and centre on traders’ minds is a dramatic surge in oil and natural gas.