Bonds, oil & earnings battle for market sentiment

European debt concerns, rising energy prices and fragile AI confidence test investors’ nerves. French unrest adds to fiscal and political uncertainty, while attractive Japanese bond yields raise questions about capital returning home and the consequences for global borrowing costs. US technology stocks have bounced, but weak Asian trading, Elice’s disappointing debut and resistance to Nscale’s valuation ambitions suggest investors are becoming more selective. Anthropic’s strong revenue growth offers encouragement, yet the AI spending boom still needs fresh money from paying customers to sustain it. Meanwhile, escalating Middle East tensions keep oil elevated, with Russian diesel supplies offering only limited potential relief. Attention turns to earnings, where strong headline growth expectations could help equities weather the storm. But technology and energy flatter the numbers. Can profits keep the bad news in the background, or is the market running short of fuel for its next move?

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.