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Global Markets Retreat as Oil Surge Reignites Inflation Concerns

Stocks and bonds fell sharply Friday in a broad-based selloff. Surging oil prices and mounting anxiety over inflation drove the decline. Rising energy costs tied to escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz region fueled fears that central banks will need to raise interest rates to combat price pressures. Emerging-market assets experienced their worst weekly performance since March, with both equity indices and currencies declining sharply. The bond selloff extended across global markets, with currency volatility intensifying against the dollar. Technology stocks, particularly chipmakers, led the equities decline. Investors grew concerned that persistent energy-price inflation will force policymakers to abandon accommodative monetary policies, threatening the longer equity rally that had characterized recent trading sessions.