Oil dives as Iran strike threat disappears

Chris Beauchamp IG

Tech and small caps have led the way on Wall Street, while oil prices slump on receding geopolitical threats, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at investing and trading platform IG.

Stocks roar back in afternoon trading

The January rally has moved back into high gear today, after roughly 48 hours of mixed trading on Wall Street around somewhat disappointing bank earnings. Today has seen US small caps hit a new record high even as tech stocks recover following TSMC’s numbers, while the FTSE 100’s progress above 10,000 continues uninterrupted. 2026 has started on a resoundingly bullish note, and with today’s US jobless claims dropping below 200K there is renewed hope that the US is entering a goldilocks scenario for the economy. A fresh drop for the Vix suggests that the benign scenario for equities will remain in place for the time being.

Oil prices slump as Iran attack threat disappears

There were apparently firm indications of US action over the skies of Iran last night, but in the end nothing materialised. Once more this has been the cue for a wave of selling in crude oil. Just as the rally has revived in stocks, it looks like supply glut fears and an absence of geopolitical worries are back to drive crude prices lower.

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Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD back around 1.1600 on firmer Dollar

EUR/USD is back under pressure and slipping towards the 1.1600 mark, hovering around multi-week lows as the Greenback extends its recovery. The move higher in the pair comes amid higher US yields and a generalised subdued sentiment in the risk complex.

GBP/USD drops to four-week lows near 1.3360

Moving in step with other risk-sensitive peers, GBP/USD is attracting heavier selling and has slipped below the key 1.3400 support on Thursday to hit fresh four-week troughs. Cable’s decline reflects a firmer US Dollar as investors keep evaluating the latest batch of US data.

Gold remains offered just above $4,600

Gold is giving back part of its recent strong run, managing to bounce off earlier lows and reclaim the area beyond the $4,600 mark per troy ounce on Thursday. The pullback comes as the Greenback regains traction, Treasury yields move higher, and some profit-taking kicks in.