The U.S. carried out an eleventh round of military strikes against Iran, with the Secretary of State saying Tehran is “not serious about talks,” sharply escalating geopolitical tensions. Brent crude rose to a more than one-month high and briefly topped $95 a barrel, while WTI climbed 3% to $86.83. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%, with QQQ down 0.8%. Tesla, Google, Reddit and Amazon came under pressure on earnings misses or concerns about capital spending, pushing their shares lower after hours.

European shares rose on Wednesday, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.58%, as weaker-than-expected UK inflation data and a run of upbeat corporate earnings lifted sentiment. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.24%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.58% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.89%. Oil prices climbed amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, but the move did not derail broader gains. Airbus, Gea Group and Fresnillo were among the stocks supported by company updates and results.

GE Vernova (GEV) posted second-quarter results with earnings of $2.47 per share, below the analyst consensus estimate of $3.13, while revenue came in at $11.104 billion versus expectations of $10.734 billion. The stock fell about 6%. Oil climbed 2.1% to $86.06 a barrel and gold rose 1.8% to $4,149.80 an ounce. The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher, while the Nasdaq was slightly lower.

Signs of a diplomatic thaw between the U.S. and Iran pressured oil prices, while spot gold rose 0.9% to $4,042.69 an ounce. Iran said it had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire to salvage a fragile interim deal, according to Reuters. Markets took the headlines as easing inflation risk and softer expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve rate hikes, which supported gold as an asset sensitive to real interest rates.

Raw sugar futures in New York and London declined, weighed by a firmer U.S. dollar and a pullback in crude oil that undermined ethanol economics and encouraged mills in Brazil and India to shift more cane toward sugar output. India’s monsoon rainfall has improved markedly since late June, easing fears of production cuts. Record-long fund positioning has added to near-term correction risk. Despite expectations of a small global shortfall in 2026/27, rising nearby supply pressure has been a short-term negative.

Cheniere Energy reported a quarterly loss after taking US$4.8b in LNG-linked derivative losses amid heightened Middle East geopolitical tensions. The company’s shares last closed at $262.6, up 32.76% year to date, with a 5-year total shareholder return of 222.73%. A widely followed valuation narrative pegs fair value at $320.94, implying the stock is 18.2% undervalued at current levels.

The euro held near recent highs ahead of the European Central Bank’s interest-rate decision, with markets widely expecting policy to remain on hold. Attention is on the ECB’s staff projections after several policymakers, including Christine Lagarde and Isabel Schnabel, struck a more hawkish tone on sticky inflation and a tight labor market. EURUSD was last at 1.1734, while the daily uptrend remained intact even as RSI moved into overbought territory. Resistance was seen at 1.1760 and 1.1820.

Bank of England policymakers Clare Lombardelli and Dave Ramsden signaled support for a gradual loosening of monetary policy, while stressing that upside inflation risks remain. Markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point BoE rate cut next week. The Federal Reserve is also widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points this week, with CME FedWatch showing an 87.6% probability. Sterling climbed toward 1.3320 against the dollar as the DXY slipped to around 99.10, and technical indicators showed GBP/USD holding above its 20-day moving average with the RSI at 58.9.