Intl Oil Prices Climb 2%+; DJIA Futures Fall 83 Pts; Alibaba Slides 4% Premarket; Sweden's Central Bank Holds Rates Steady as Expected; European Bourses Broadly Soft

The US Treasury said overnight (19th) that it will scale up long-term Treasury buybacks, with the maximum repurchase amount raised from USD2 billion to at least USD4 billion. The yield on the 30-year US Treasury retreated from the 19-year peak hit in the previous session, last reported at 5.223%.

International oil prices jumped up more than 2% after US President Donald Trump vowed to wage an "economic warfare" against Iran and impose financial penalties on its supporters, while the UAE said it would suspend trade ties with Tehran, driving oil prices higher in early Thursday trading.

Futures for the three major US stock indices showed limited movement, with DJIA futures down 83 points or less than 0.2%, S&P 500 futures edging down 4 points, and Nasdaq futures up 19 points or less than 0.1%. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US) slumped 4.1% in pre-market US trading to USD123.6. Its adjusted net profit for the first fiscal quarter ended June sank 38% YoY to RMB20.715 billion, missing expectations, while Alibaba Cloud's revenue surged 45% in 1FQ.

Sweden's central bank announced that it would keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%, in line, marking the 12th consecutive month of unchanged rates. Major European stock markets were generally softer in early trading today (20th). The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1% to 650.53. The UK's FTSE 100 lost 19 points or nearly 0.2% to 10,723. France's CAC dropped 20 points or 0.2% to 8,481. Germany's DAX fell 134 points or 0.5% to 25,956.
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