This content was published on
July 10, 2026 - 10:00
3 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell as traders reduced exposure ahead of the weekend, with a fragile truce in the Middle East keeping geopolitical risk in focus.A rally in US equities was set to pause after chipmakers drove the S&P 500 to the highest since mid-June. Futures for the index dropped 0.2%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 was little changed and remained on track for its first weekly loss in five. SK Hynix Inc. dipped 0.3% in Seoul before the memory maker’s US debut.Oil steadied at the end of a volatile week. Brent was trading 0.7% lower near $75.75 a barrel as talks between the US and Iran continued despite a flare-up in fighting that drove a steep drop in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The risk of escalation is expected to keep investors cautious as they close out the week.“Over the weekend, discussions between the US and Iran are expected to continue,” said David Manso, chief investment officer at CaixaBank AM. “Oil prices could provide a useful gauge of investor sentiment and expectations regarding the evolution of the situation.”The dollar fell 0.2% in a third straight day of losses. Bonds extended a rebound, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries falling two basis points to 4.53%. The yen outperformed all major currencies, rising 0.4% after Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government wants pension funds to increase investment in domestic assets.Corporate News:EasyJet Plc received a fresh offer from private equity firm Apollo Global Management for 715 pence a share that beats a rival proposal from Castlelake LP. French billionaire Xavier Niel has agreed to buy a stake in Vodafone Group Plc from Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. for about $6 billion to become the biggest shareholder in the British telecommunications company. Bayer AG sold a minority stake in its contraceptives business to Apollo Global Management Inc. for €3 billion ($3.4 billion). Volkswagen AG plans to cut its sprawling model lineup by as much as half, part of a savings push that fell short of expectations for progress on deeper workforce reductions and plant closures in Germany. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksThe Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 8:58 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.8% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro was little changed at $1.1438 The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 161.70 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.7819 per dollar The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3422 CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 1.1% to $63,952.12 Ether rose 1.4% to $1,772.3 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.53% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.07% Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.87% CommoditiesBrent crude fell 0.7% to $75.77 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,107.38 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Subrat Patnaik.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
