Today's main theme
On 22 October, both the energy and technology sectors came under pressure simultaneously. In the Middle East, *The New York Times* reported that the US and Israel had drawn up plans to resume air strikes against Iran following the US mid-term elections; the Iranian Revolutionary Guard claimed that several vessels in the Persian Gulf had been struck or hit by mines; and the Houthi rebels launched another attack on Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia. Brent crude rose to a high not seen in over five months, closing at around US$113 per barrel. On the technology front, Meta reported negative quarterly free cash flow for the first time in over a decade, fuelling market concerns that AI infrastructure is being sustained by debt and share issues; the Nasdaq fell 2.6 per cent on the day, whilst the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 6.7 per cent. Funds were withdrawn from technology stocks and redirected towards defensive sectors such as US Treasuries and consumer staples, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries falling back to around 5 per cent. Separately, two high-risk vulnerabilities in PHP that allow remote code execution were disclosed, one of which was discovered with the assistance of AI; China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a new version of the ‘Measures for the Administration of Outward Investment’; and following Russia’s agreement to resume negotiations, large-scale mutual attacks broke out between Russia and Ukraine that same evening.
