Today’s stock market: Oil prices rise and Wall Street slips

• S&P 500 Futures: 5,745.25 ⬇️ down by 0.26%
• S&P 500: 5,699.94 ⬇️ down by 0.17%
• Nasdaq Composite: 17,918.48 ⬇️ down by 0.037%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,011.59 ⬇️ down by 0.44%
• STOXX Europe 600: 516.29 ⬇️ down by 0.93%
• Hang Seng Index: 22,113.51 ⬇️ down by 1.47%
• Nikkei 225: 38,552.06 ⬆️ increasing by 1.97%
• Bitcoin: $60,985.30 ⬆️ up 0.58%

US: Wall Street continues to fall from records
Stocks fell as oil prices rose, with Brent crude up 5% to $77.62 a barrel after starting the week below $72. That puts it on track for its biggest weekly gain in nearly two years. Investors’ eyes are on the crisis in the Middle East, where ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran threaten global supply chains as the region accounts for a third of the world’s oil production. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares bucked the trend, rising more than 3 percent after CEO Jensen Huang highlighted strong demand for next-generation Blackwell chips.

Europe: Stocks fall across the board on Middle East tensions
European shares fell as rising tensions in the Middle East weighed on markets. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.9 percent to its lowest level in nearly two weeks, with the auto makers, construction and mining sectors leading decliners. Major players included Tesco Plc, which rose after improving its profit outlook, and SAP SE, which fell following a wide-ranging U.S. investigation into price-fixing.

China: Hong Kong shares fade after three-week rally
Shares in Hong Kong pulled back after a strong 6.2 percent gain the previous day, as traders locked in profits after a three-week gain of about 30 percent. Property stocks fell, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties index down nearly 6 percent as enthusiasm for China’s stimulus efforts waned. Meanwhile, markets in China remained closed for the Golden Week holidays.

Japan: Interest rate meeting encourages exporters
The Nikkei 225 continued its volatile week, climbing 1.97% after falling 2.18% the previous day. Following a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dismissed the possibility of an immediate interest rate hike, leading to a weaker yen – a positive development for Japan’s major exporters.