Fresh worries about the West Asia ceasefire and the prospect of a US interest rate hike hit stocks and oil prices on Thursday (June 11, 2026), following a rollercoaster week for markets that has sent shivers through trading floors.

Investors took a little heart from closely watched data on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) that showed May U.S. inflation had come in around expectations but still hit a more than three-year high as fuel costs surge owing to the Iran war.

The reading came days after figures showing a forecast-busting jump in jobs creation last month ramped up bets on the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates for the first time since 2023.

Attention will now turn to the Fed’s next policy meeting in a week’s time, and while new chief Kevin Warsh is unlikely to make a hike his first act, observers said futures markets suggest a move up could come before the end of the year.

“Overall (the inflation report) was not as bad as it could have been and core was a little lighter than expected so the market is seeing this as a positive,” Neil Wilson, Saxo investor strategist said.

“This could re-anchor expectations a touch for a bit but I still think that the Fed is swinging more quickly behind a hike than it might have done or markets might think.

“Time is growing short and even if it could have been a hotter read, headline CPI above four percent against a really strong labour market clearly deserves attention from the Fed.”

The prospect of higher borrowing costs once again hurt tech firms, which tumbled on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq sank two percent and the S&P 500 shed almost as much.

And Asia felt the pain, too.

Seoul — at the forefront of the region’s tech-led rally to record highs — shed more than one percent, having seen wild swings over the previous two days.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Wellington and Taipei were also down.

A series of fresh U.S. military strikes on sites in Iran, on top of those carried out Tuesday for the downing of a helicopter, added to the sense of unease among investors.

They led Tehran to hit back at U.S. targets in the Middle East, saying it will target any ship going through the Strait of Hormuz.

And while U.S. Central Command said it had completed its strikes, the latest increase in attacks fuelled concerns about their shaky truce and attempts to reach a peace deal to reopen the Strait and allow crude ships to pass again.

The second day of U.S. strikes followed Donald Trump’s complaint that Tehran’s negotiators were taking too long and “playing us for suckers”. Earlier this week he had suggested a peace accord was just days away.

“We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today,” the US president told reporters Wednesday morning. “We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along.”

Oil prices jumped as much as 2% on Thursday (June 11, 2026), extending similar gains the day before.

Oil ‌prices climbed about 1% on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), moving away from a ​seven-week low touched in the previous session, after the ⁠U.S. military launched new strikes against Iran and as market data showed another large draw in U.S. crude stocks.

The U.S. military’s strikes on Iranian targets ‌followed after President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond to the downing of a U.S. Apache attack helicopter overnight, ‌in a fresh escalation that threatens to unravel a fragile ‌ceasefire ⁠between Washington and Tehran.

Brent futures rose 83 cents, or ⁠0.9% to $92.29 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 68 cents, or 0.8%, to $88.97.

Brent had settled at its lowest on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) since April 17, while WTI had ​closed down at its ‌weakest since May 29 after Israel and Iran halted direct attacks on each other after Mr. Trump urged them to stop.

Tehran said it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to attack the Hezbollah militia ‌in Lebanon. Israel’s refusal to end its campaign against Iran-backed ​Hezbollah has hindered Trump’s efforts to extend a tenuous ceasefire in the wider U.S.-Israeli war with Iran into a ⁠durable settlement.

At the same time, Tehran has continued to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of ‌the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic in the Gulf and oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz are rising even as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach a deal on ending their more than ‌three-month-old war.

On the supply side, U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week for ​an eighth consecutive week, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Tuesday, while ⁠gasoline stocks also declined.

Crude stocks fell by 9.12 million barrels in the ⁠week ended June 5, the sources said on condition of anonymity, while gasoline inventories fell by 1.19 million barrels.

The United ‌States has acted as a marginal supplier of crude and products during the war and ramped up exports to Asia ​and Europe. Lower U.S. inventories could hurt exports and push up prices.

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty drifted lower in opening trade on Tuesday (April 28, 2026) as surging oil prices and foreign fund outflows unnerved investors.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 208.84 points to 77,094.79 in opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 42.8 points to 24,049.90.

From the 30-Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent and Axis Bank were among the biggest laggards.

Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.99% higher at $109.3 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,151.48 crore on Monday (April 27, 2026), according to exchange data.

“Elevated crude oil prices continue to be a key concern, with Brent trading in the $106–110 per barrel range, adding to inflationary pressures and weighing on sentiment. On the domestic front, foreign investor flows remain under pressure, reflecting global risk aversion, while domestic institutional investors continue to provide some support,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

Overall, sentiment remains fragile and largely driven by external factors, he added.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted lower, while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi traded higher.

U.S. markets ended flat on Monday (April 27, 2026).

“Global markets present a mixed but cautiously constructive picture. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have scaled fresh record highs, reflecting underlying resilience in U.S. equities. However, the upside momentum remains constrained by unresolved geopolitical tensions, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, where fresh developments continue to influence crude oil prices and global risk sentiment,” Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

On Monday, the Sensex jumped 639.42 points or 0.83% to settle at 77,303.63. The Nifty climbed 194.75 points or 0.81% to close at 24,092.70.