Brent back above $110, stocks in Europe fall, gold rises: what's happening in the markets

The cost of Brent crude oil rose above $110 per barrel. Against this background, European shares accelerated their decline, while gold is becoming more expensive. In the U.S., futures on major indices lost positive dynamics and went into a small minus.

- The cost of contracts for delivery of Brent with execution in May in the course of trading on March 27 rose by 2.3% and reached $110.5 per barrel. U.S. oil WTI rose by 1.9% to $96.31 per barrel.

- The pan-European stock index Stoxx 600 was losing about 0.7%. The German DAX index fell the most - by 0.8%, while the French CAC 40 fell by 0.4% and the British FTSE 100 - by 0.3%.

- In the U.S., futures on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones initially rose, but then the positive dynamics was replaced by a slight decline within 0.1%.

- Spot gold prices were up 2.3% to $4475 per troy ounce. The cost of silver was growing by 3.4% and exceeded $70.

- Bitcoin fell 3.5 percent to about $67,700, CoinGecko shows.

Oil prices continued to rise on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump extending a pause in U.S. strikes on Iran's infrastructure until April 6. Investors are pricing in the likelihood of a further continuation of the war, which has been going on for almost a month, Barron's wrote.

The Pentagon is considering sending up to 10,000 more military personnel to the Middle East to give Trump different options, sources told The Wall Street Journal. That contingent would include infantry and armored vehicles. It would join the roughly 5,000 Marines and several thousand paratroopers that were sent to the region earlier, the Journal wrote. It is unclear exactly where in the Middle East the military will be headed, but it will likely be near Iran and its Kharq Island, through which 90 percent of the country's oil exports pass, according to the WSJ.

"Given the uncertainty over what a win should look like and the recent attacks on energy infrastructure, there is a risk that [oil] prices will first need to move significantly higher to push the parties towards a deal," Macquarie strategist Peter Taylor said in a note quoted by Barron's.

The market moves show that investors are "losing faith in Donald Trump and his statements," Panmure Liberum's head of strategy Joachim Clement said in a Bloomberg statement. "This is a dangerous turn as it could lead to panic in the markets. In this case, large market interventions by central banks may become necessary," Clement added.

In addition, stocks accelerated the decline after China launched investigations against the U.S. in the trade sphere - in response to similar actions of Washington, writes Bloomberg. The cost of bonds of the U.S. Ministry of Finance fell: thus, the yield of two-year trijeris grew by three basis points - up to $4.02%, the agency noted.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor