Middle East and Artificial Intelligence Concerns Shake Global Markets

Global markets are experiencing sharp volatility as geopolitical risks and capital concerns regarding the artificial intelligence sector escalate simultaneously. Brent crude oil price approached its wartime peak, rising to $114.70, while the US tech index Nasdaq fell by 2.9%, and precious metals alongside crypto assets remained under selling pressure.

In the Middle East, Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabian targets and the Yanbu port in the Red Sea escalated supply concerns. The fact that energy infrastructure came under fire in the Russia-Ukraine war also pushed the risk premium higher. With these developments, the barrel price of Brent crude rose to $114.70 in early trades, seeing its highest level since May and approaching the $119.50 peak at the beginning of the war. While threats in the Strait of Hormuz continue, potential operation scenarios between the US and Iran increase unease in the markets.

On the other hand, fears regarding capital expenditures on AI stocks in global stock markets and concerns that they will not yield returns in the short term triggered selling pressure. While Meta reported negative cash flow and raised its spending forecast, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that he thinks capital is diminishing. While the Nasdaq index fell by 2.9% in yesterday's trading, Nvidia lost 4.40%, AMD 8.1%, Amazon 4.47%, Microsoft 2.23%, Meta 6.98%, and Alphabet 3.08%.

Moves to convert to cash against the decline in stocks also brought selling to alternative markets. The ounce price of gold dropped below $4,000 to see $3,986 and sought balance around $4,015. Silver prices fell to $53.45, testing their lowest levels since November 2025, while Bitcoin dropped to around $81,315. The US 10-year Treasury yield, to which money fleeing stocks turned as a safe haven, fell below the 5% level after a one-month hiatus. In Asian stock markets, declines exceeding 1.7% in Japan, 2.3% in South Korea, and 1% in China were observed.