Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
Asian equity markets are under significant pressure this session, with crude oil punching past one hundred dollars a barrel for the first time since May. Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran are driving the surge, and that inflationary shock is rippling directly into risk assets across the region, pushing indices broadly lower.
Australia is feeling that pain acutely. The S&P ASX two hundred is extending losses into mid-session, sliding toward the eight thousand seven hundred level and deepening a decline that now stretches across four consecutive sessions. The combination of Wall Street's overnight weakness and the crude spike is giving sellers little reason to step back in.
Turning to equities stateside, Chewy is drawing attention after the stock has shed roughly half its value. The pet retailer posted a quarter that analysts are calling uneven but fundamentally sound, raising the question of whether this selloff has gone too far relative to the underlying business. For patient investors, the valuation conversation is at least worth having.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
