World markets turned risk-off as Brent crude rose 3% to more than $112 a barrel and French bond yields climbed, while U.S. stock futures fell sharply. Meta shares dropped 3% premarket after reversing an initial gain, and Tesla slipped 5%.
World markets turned risk-off as Brent crude rose 3% to more than $112 a barrel, its highest level since May. French 10-year yields topped 5%, while the premium over German debt widened to 165 basis points, the broadest since 2011, amid concerns about a stalled budget, a possible credit rating downgrade and potential weekend rioting.
U.S. stock index futures fell sharply, pulling Treasury yields lower. Meta briefly rose after a slight earnings beat, but reversed course and was down 3% before the bell as it increased spending plans and issued more shares to finance its AI push. Third-quarter free cash flow was negative $2 billion, versus positive cash flow of almost $11 billion a year earlier.
Tesla shares slipped 5% overnight after its update, despite another quarter of positive free cash flow; its capital spending and car sales targets through 2030 came in below forecasts. Super Micro rose more than 10% on Wednesday after a revenue beat, then gave back half of those gains overnight.
