Sept 9 : Brent crude prices surged past $100 a barrel on Wednesday and the yield on 10-year Treasury debt hit its highest level since November 2023, as Middle East and inflation concerns weighed down Wall Street.Brent crude was at $100.27 per barrel in midday trading, up 2.4 per cent on the day, breaching the symbolic price level for the first time since July 24, after Iran said it fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan and both sides claimed to have attacked vessels, raising worries about oil supplies from the region. At the same time, yields on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 3.26 basis points to 4.837 per cent, hitting levels not seen since November 2023, after the Treasury Department announced it would buy up to $6 billion in 10-to-20-year government bonds. The buyback was higher than the $4 billion the Treasury had signaled earlier, but some analysts had expected an even larger purchase as part of a bid to support longer duration bonds. Stocks globally were lower amid the Middle East turmoil and looming actions from several central banks, including the Federal Reserve. All three major U.S. indices were lower in midday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.52 per cent, the S&P 500 lower by 0.39 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.61 per cent.