Daily News
Nasdaq Closes at Record as Tech Rallies Past Treasury Yields at 24-Year Highs; Gold Pinned Below $4,150; Crude Near $89 as Gulf Exports Recover; China Shuts Hundreds of Banks
06 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets were broadly higher on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 adding 0.29%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advancing 0.53% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining 0.95%, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.23% and mainland China’s market remained closed for the Golden Week holiday. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite sailed to a fresh record close of 27,477.31, up 1.05%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.66% to 7,773.95 and the Dow rose 90.94 points to 51,267.90, led by AI-linked stocks as SpaceX jumped more than 7%. Treasury yields stayed in focus, with the 10-year note surpassing 5.3% and the 30-year breaching 5.7%, both multi-year highs. Gold held below $4,150 an ounce near two-month lows on a stronger dollar and surging yields, while crude traded near $89 per barrel after two sessions of declines as Middle East crude exports recovered toward pre-war levels.
In other news: China closed a record 670 mostly rural lenders in 2025 as Beijing consolidates its financial system; India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said trade talks with the U.S. have reached a plateau; the World Bank raised its East Asia and Pacific growth forecast to 4.5% while warning of AI concentration risks; key central bankers including Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BoE Governor Andrew Bailey will meet at the Istanbul Economic Forum on October 8 to 9; Huawei agreed a multi-year patent licensing deal with Qualcomm; Meta, TikTok and X are challenging UK regulator Ofcom over online safety data demands; Boeing was awarded a contract worth up to $14.7 billion by Lockheed Martin for PAC-3 MSE seekers; and Nvidia-backed Reflection AI unveiled its first open-weight model, Beam, to take on Chinese open models.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.29% on Tuesday
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.29% on Tuesday, while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.23% lower. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.53%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.95%, while mainland China’s market remained closed for the Golden Week holiday. Oil prices fell Monday. Brent crude futures slipped 1.9% to close at $100.32 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude fell about 1.8% to $89.43 per barrel. Oil was trading slightly higher Tuesday. Treasury yields remained in focus, as the 10-year note yield once more touched highs last seen in 2002, surpassing 5.3%. The 30-year yield also breached 5.7% at one point also for its highest level in 24 years.
Nasdaq closes at fresh record as tech shares rise and traders look past higher yields
The Nasdaq Composite sailed to a fresh all-time high as traders looked past rising U.S. Treasury yields and digested new economic data. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.05% and hit an intraday of 27,544.07. The tech-heavy index posted a record close of 27,477.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 90.94 points, or 0.18%, to end at 51,267.90. The S&P 500 climbed 0.66% to 7,773.95. Several stocks tied to the artificial intelligence trade led the way higher for the Nasdaq. SpaceX jumped more than 7%, while hyperscalers Meta Platforms and Microsoft ticked up almost 2% and more than 1%, respectively. Nvidia and Tesla rose 2% each.
Gold held below $4,150 an ounce on Tuesday, pinned near two-month lows
Gold held below $4,150 an ounce on Tuesday, pinned near two-month lows as a stronger dollar and surging Treasury yields outweighed support from softer US jobs data and reduced expectations for an October rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The dollar strengthened largely as the euro weakened amid rising political uncertainty and fiscal concerns across Europe. Treasury yields also climbed to fresh 24-year highs as the global bond selloff continued, driven by mounting fiscal risks and persistent inflation concerns. ISM data showed that cost pressures in the US services sector increased at the fastest pace in more than four years last month. Meanwhile, markets are pricing in roughly a 78% probability that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged this month following weaker-than-expected US jobs data.
Crude oil traded near $89 per barrel on Tuesday after declining for two consecutive sessions
Crude oil traded near $89 per barrel on Tuesday after declining for two consecutive sessions, pressured by signs that Middle East crude exports are recovering toward pre-war levels. JPMorgan said crude shipments have rebounded to 17.5 million barrels a day, or 98% of pre-war levels, while product flows such as diesel and gasoline reached 3 million barrels a day, or 58%. Gulf producers are moving larger volumes through the Strait of Hormuz despite elevated shipping risks, with Iraq seeking to hire additional vessels to transport its cargoes through the waterway. Kuwait also said it is pumping oil at around 75% of the level seen before the Iran war. In addition, Saudi Arabia sharply reduced the price of its flagship crude grade for Asian buyers as supply flows improved, further signalling a loosening market.
China shuts hundreds of banks as Beijing moves to shore up its financial system
China is accelerating its consolidation of smaller, mostly rural banks in a bid to shore up its financial system, amid ongoing concerns over an economic slowdown in the country. Beijing’s policy-led consolidation saw a record 670 lenders closed in 2025 — about one-quarter of banks in the country — as authorities ramped up mergers and dissolutions to create fewer, larger and better-capitalized institutions, according to Fitch Ratings analysis. Small and rural commercial banks “remain the weakest part of the system” in China, Fitch said in a report, which flagged their “poor asset quality, low capitalization and governance shortcomings,” especially in less developed regions of the country.
India’s finance minister confirms trade impasse with the U.S.
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said trade talks with the U.S. had reached a plateau, adding to growing skepticism around a deal between New Delhi and Washington. “Negotiations are still ongoing, although we’d like to believe that both sides have reached a plateau beyond which giving or taking might be very very difficult,” Sitharaman said, speaking to the press at the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi on Monday. The finance minister’s comments come just after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last week said a trade agreement was not ‘imminent’ even as the negotiations were ongoing. Sitharaman’s comments mark the first time India has acknowledged the challenges it faces in closing the trade deal with the U.S. She said the U.S. wants to “reduce” its trade imbalance with India, and they want to make up “for all that they’ve lost over these years.”
World Bank warns of AI concentration risks as it lifts East Asia and Pacific growth outlook to 4.5%
The World Bank has raised its growth forecast for the East Asia and Pacific region on the back of artificial intelligence-related exports, while warning that its reliance on the AI boom leaves it vulnerable to a potential global tech spending reversal. The region includes 23 economies, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The EAP economy is expected to expand 4.5% this year, 0.3 percentage point more than the bank projected in April, according to its latest report released Tuesday. Growth is forecast to ease to 4.4% in 2027 and 4.3% in 2028. Vietnam received the biggest forecast upgrade among major economies of the region, up 1.1 percentage point to 7.4%.
Key central bankers to meet in Istanbul to discuss global policy challenges
Some of the world’s most prominent central bankers will attend the Istanbul Economic Forum on Thursday and Friday to discuss inflation, monetary policy and the global economic outlook, the forum’s website said. The website, compiled by the Turkish Central Bank, said Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, BIS General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos and Banque de France Governor Emmanuel Moulin are among those due to attend the two-day forum on October 8 to 9. Other expected attendees include the central bank governors of Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. In total, 16 central bank governors and eight deputy governors as well as the finance ministers of Turkey and Egypt and officials of international financial institutions are scheduled to join the meeting.
Huawei agrees to a multi-year patent licensing deal with Qualcomm
China’s Huawei Technologies said on Monday it had agreed a broad multi-year patent licence deal with Qualcomm covering artificial intelligence, 5G, computing and networking technologies. Here are some details: The agreement includes Qualcomm’s purchase of certain Huawei US patents related to computing, AI and networking, Huawei said in a statement. It is Huawei’s first patent licensing deal with Qualcomm that covers 5G technologies. Huawei said the deal is expected to push the total value of its patent licensing agreements to more than $6.9 billion once completed. The company said its intellectual property licensing business has generated positive revenue since 2021, reflecting years of heavy investment in research and development.
Meta, TikTok, X challenge UK watchdog over online safety data demands
Meta, TikTok and X are challenging British regulator Ofcom over the amount of information it is demanding they provide under Britain’s nascent online safety regime. The challenge is one of the first in relation to the 2023 Online Safety Act, which sets tougher standards for platforms such as TikTok, X and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram with the aim to protect children from harmful and illegal content. Ofcom has been gradually implementing the regime, with its requirements backed up by the threat of fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover for the most serious breaches. In February, it issued information notices requesting detailed content moderation metrics from the tech companies, including data on how many posts were removed or had visibility restricted, and how many users were exposed to harmful content.
Boeing receives Lockheed PAC-3 MSE contract worth up to $14.7 billion
Boeing on Monday said it was awarded a seven-year contract worth about $14.7 billion by Lockheed Martin to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) seekers. PAC-3 MSE is a hit-to-kill interceptor used within the Patriot air defence system to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. The contract award enables Boeing to triple the production of PAC-3 MSE seekers, the missile’s guidance component that detects, tracks and helps intercept incoming targets. In January, Lockheed announced a seven-year framework agreement with the US Department of War to increase the annual production capacity for its PAC-3 missile interceptors to 2,000 units a year from about 600 previously. They are part of a broader push by the Trump administration to prioritize weapons production over shareholder returns.
Nvidia-backed Reflection unveils first AI model to take on Chinese open models
Nvidia-backed Reflection AI debuted its first open-weight model named Beam on Monday, as the startup aims to compete with lower-cost Chinese models such as DeepSeek and Kimi in coding and agentic tasks. Reflection said Beam is competitive with Chinese AI startup Z.ai’s GLM-5.2 and is closing in on Qwen3.8-Max on coding and agentic tasks. Here are some details: The startup said that Beam contains 501 billion total parameters, or variables that determine how an AI system processes information, but activates only 23 billion for each task to make the model faster and cheaper to run by using only part of its network for each task. Comparatively, Z.ai’s GLM-5.2 has about 744 billion total parameters with 40 billion active parameters.