AdvertisementAdvertisementJustin Kanda works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Sep 14, 2026. (Photo: AP/Seth Wenig)24 Sep 2026 05:45AM Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST NEW YORK: Stock markets fell Wednesday (Sep 23) as oil prices rose sharply and US bond yields jumped on inflation fears, with world leaders at the UN General Assembly offering little to suggest progress in ending turmoil in the Middle East.After several sessions of falls, the price of North Sea Brent crude rose 3.86 per cent to US$103.08 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.81 per cent to reach $92.16 per barrel.The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.11 per cent - its highest level since 2007.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone at the UN, vowing Tehran would never "bend at the knee" to the United States as their stalled war drags on.On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had told the UN that he was weighing whether to "annihilate" Iran but went on to hail renewed talks with Tehran.On Wall Street on Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell 0.68 per cent and the broader S&P 500 slid 0.75 per cent while the Nasdaq shed 1.13 per cent.The US Federal Reserve lifted borrowing costs last week, providing relief to traders concerned that policymakers were not moving quickly enough to address a spike in inflation.Treasury yields are rising and stocks falling as "there is now the notion that the Fed will continue to hike rates, not one and done," Angelo Kourkafas, of Edward Jones, told AFP."Part of the reason is also there's no clear off-ramp in regards to the energy markets, the UN comments today and the headlines coming out of it have not necessarily helped the sentiment around geopolitical risks."Hopes for a deal to get Gulf oil and gas flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz as global leaders gathered in New York had sent oil prices down in recent sessions.First US-Iran talks in months raise hopes for progress despite no concessionsJohn Kilduff of Again Capital told AFP that "we're taking back some of the enthusiasm from yesterday about the meeting between Iran and the US."There wasn't necessarily all that much substance to what occurred.""A sudden spike in the oil price caught investors off guard and reminded them not to be complacent about inflationary pressures," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.The OECD on Wednesday said that global economic growth had been "resilient" in many countries despite the war, as it slightly raised its economic output forecasts for 2026.European stocks lost ground - Frankfurt closing 0.7 per cent down and Paris losing almost half a per cent while London finished flat.Asian indices also pulled back.Earlier in Asian trading, Hong Kong closed down one per cent, shrugging off an announcement by Chinese tech giant Alibaba that it would expand its overseas data centres, and Shanghai lost 0.4 per cent.South Korea's tech-rich Kospi and Taiwan's Taiex index - home to chipmaking titan TSMC - gained nearly one per cent.Source: AFP/fsSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST