Global Stocks Defy Bond Rout, Oil Surge to Stay 2% Off Record Highs

Global equity indexes ended a tumultuous third quarter just 2% below all-time highs, up more than 12% for the year after adding $3 trillion in value, even as G10 government bonds sold off sharply. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose past 5% to its highest since just before the 2007 financial crash, with Japanese yields at multi-decade highs and German, French and British yields at 17- to 19-year peaks. AXA chief economist Gilles Moec attributed the move to a new structural trend rather than a temporary spike, saying it is "making people very, very nervous." South Korea's KOSPI fell nearly 20%, its worst quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic, while oil rose 40% for the quarter and 70% for the year. Bitcoin also surged. Japan and the US staged a rare coordinated intervention in late July to stop the yen's slide to near 40-year lows.