The Morning Briefing · Thursday, 8 October 2026 · Published 07:20 CET · 4-minute read
Good morning. The Federal Reserve’s minutes confirmed what bond markets feared: most officials expect to raise interest rates once more before the end of the year. Stocks slipped from their records, European markets had a rough day, and oil eased slightly after the world’s energy agency agreed to speed up emergency fuel releases.
☕ Today in 30 seconds
- One more Fed hike likely. Most officials see another increase by year end, which keeps loan and mortgage costs high.
- Yields at a 24-year high. The US 10-year yield briefly touched its highest level since 2002 before settling near 5.3%.
- Diesel relief push. IEA members agreed to speed up stock releases and prioritise diesel; Brent eased to about $100.
- Europe sold off. The IBEX 35 fell 1.7% on oil, bond yields and French budget worries.
📈 Markets
| Index/Asset | Last close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,801.77 | −0.22% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 27,538.69 | −0.22% |
| Dow Jones | 51,179.87 | −0.66% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 | ↓ lower | ↓ lower |
| IBEX 35 | 19,118.0 | −1.68% |
| Brent crude | ≈ $100 | ↓ lower |
| Gold | ≈ $4,110–4,130/oz | ↓ lower |
| EUR/USD | ≈ 1.12 | ↓ lower |
| US 10-year yield | ≈ 5.29% | ↑ higher |
Wall Street drifted lower all day and dipped further after the Fed minutes, with small companies hit hardest: the Russell 2000 lost 1.3% (TheStreet, Yahoo Finance). In Europe, banks led the losses and Milan dropped more than 2.5%, while Spain’s 10-year bond yield rose above 4.1% (Capital).
🌍 Economy
Fed minutes point to another rate rise. At their September meeting, when they lifted rates unanimously to 3.75%–4.00%, most officials judged that a further increase “would likely be appropriate by year end”. They said progress on inflation had stalled because of higher oil prices and heavy AI investment, and staff do not expect inflation back at 2% until 2029. Traders still see only about a one-in-five chance of a move at the October 27–28 meeting (investingLive, Yahoo Finance).
Americans expect higher prices. The New York Fed’s survey shows households expect inflation of 3.9% over the next year, up from 3.6% in August and the highest since May 2023. Rising expectations are one reason the Fed is reluctant to rule out more hikes (Estrategias de Inversión, Rio Times).
German factories surprise on the upside. Industrial output rose 2.0% in August, after a 1.2% drop in July, reaching its highest level in 18 months. Construction jumped more than 9% thanks to public infrastructure work, while car production fell more than 5% (The Local / AFP, Sharecast).
⚡ Energy & bills
The IEA speeds up emergency stock releases. Member countries agreed to deliver faster the roughly 100 million barrels still pending from earlier releases and to put diesel first. Brent settled slightly lower, near $100 a barrel, even though US crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels when analysts expected a rise (Reuters / Euronext, The National).
Diesel is where it hurts. US diesel costs more than $6 a gallon, against about $3.60 a year ago, and European diesel has hit a record of around €2.24 a litre. Diesel prices feed into delivery and food costs, so any relief would reach shoppers with a lag (The National).
🏢 Companies
Webull sinks on a China-ties report. Shares of the trading app fell about 19% after a US House committee report raised national-security concerns about its links to China, including where staff are based and how customer data could be accessed. The panel urged a review by the CFIUS investment watchdog; Webull disputes the report (Motley Fool, Yahoo Finance).
McDonald’s sued over AI pricing. A customer filed a proposed class action in federal court in Illinois, claiming the company’s AI-enhanced pricing tool shares data among franchisees and amounts to “algorithmic price-fixing”. McDonald’s says franchisees set their own prices and calls the suit “filled with inaccuracies” (AP / WALB, TheStreet).
🔢 One number to know
3.9%
The inflation US households expect over the next 12 months, the highest reading since May 2023 in the New York Fed’s survey (Estrategias de Inversión).
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🗓 What to watch today
| Time (CET) | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Germany trade balance (August) | How Europe’s biggest exporter is coping with high energy costs |
| ≈ 12:00 | PepsiCo third-quarter results | A read on how far shoppers accept higher food prices |
| 13:30 | ECB accounts of the September meeting | Clues on whether the ECB will raise rates again |
| 14:30 | US weekly jobless claims | A fast check on the job market (expected ≈ 200,000) |
| 16:00 | US wholesale inventories (August) | Signals for growth and business stockpiling |
| 19:00 | US 30-year bond auction ($22bn) | Demand for long-term debt with yields near 24-year highs |
Full week in our economic calendar.
📚 Read more
- Stocks slip from records as Treasury yields hit 24-year high
- World Economy in 24 Hours: October 8 — Samsung’s record profit, mortgage rates hit 7.49%
- EIA: heating oil bills to rise 21% this winter as gas costs dip
- Tool: see how inflation eats into your savings with our inflation calculator.
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Market data is for information only and is not investment advice.
Written by The Daily Economy editorial team with AI assistance and checked against the linked sources. Read our editorial policy.