AFS Markets Blog: Midday 09/11/2026

• Meanwhile in markets, equities continue to claw back some of their recent losses this session. Beyond equities, it is a quiet day, with bond yields continuing to move sideways;

• Both Bund and US Treasury yields are holding close to Friday’s closing levels. At 3.00 percent, the 2-year Bund yield remains near its lowest level in two months, while the 2-year UST yield sits 5bps above its recent lows, at 4.52 percent. Over in the periphery, Bund spreads are also little changed from where they stood before the weekend. The Portuguese-Bund spread is now at 44bps, Spain at 57bps and Italy at 108bps. All three remain above their major daily moving averages, although the 50-DMA is gradually coming back into sight. Le Spread, meanwhile, sits at 151bps – still elevated and more than 20bps above its 50-DMA;

• Shifting to equities, the Stoxx 50 is up more than one percent at pixel time, now trading higher than it was a week ago. The index has climbed more than 2.5 percent above its October lows, although its August all-time high remains out of reach, with the Stoxx 50 still more than 5 percent below that level. Looking at the subindices, technology is unsurprisingly among the worst performers over the past month (alongside basic resources), down 6 percent;

• Across the Atlantic, S&P 500 futures are up around half a percent this morning, with Nasdaq futures posting more modest gains. Last Friday, the Nasdaq managed to claw back around one percent after Thursday’s rout, although that still left it well below its earlier levels. The tech-heavy index is now down 13 percent from its October highs, firmly in correction territory;

• Moving to broader market commentary, EURUSD is trading at 1.119 – up half a percent this morning and having now erased last week’s losses. The move comes amid a broader weakening of the greenback, which is down half a percent against major currencies and marginally against emerging market currencies;

• Over in energy, Brent crude has fallen to $94.75 at pixel time as diplomatic efforts to secure a resolution to the war intensify. Qatar’s Prime Minister is visiting Washington today to meet with President Trump and Vice President Vance, and has reportedly brought a proposal under which Iran would drop its demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz and the right to collect transit fees. While still unconfirmed and only just emerging as this is being written, the proposal would mark a major concession by Iran and a significant step towards a deal. European natural gas prices dropped nearly four percent following the news, to their lowest level in a month;

• Looking ahead, we’ll be keeping a close eye on further headlines coming out of the Middle East, with little else on the agenda today. Tomorrow, however, will be a big day with the release of US CPI inflation data for October. Besides this, we’ll have some Fed and ECB speak to keep an eye on, including remarks from Fed Governor Waller – a voice we always watch closely.

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