Rising interest rates rekindle inflation concerns, US stocks pull back, Bitcoin continues to decline while seeking support.

Overnight to this morning, U.S. consumers’ one-year inflation expectations rose to 3.9%, hitting a more than three-year high, signaling improved labor market confidence. Separately, the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September meeting were released, showing all 19 policymakers backed a September rate hike but cited varying rationales; most participants judged another rate increase before the end of the year could be appropriate. In related news, Axios reported that the U.S. Pentagon has ordered U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to complete preparations for resuming major military operations against Iran, though Trump has not made a final decision nor set a specific strike date. U.S. and Israeli officials said if the operation is relaunched, it could occur before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, and even earlier than Israel’s general election on October 27. As a result, the three major U.S. stock indexes pulled back: the Nasdaq ended its five-session winning streak, the S&P 500 fell from record highs, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1% at one point during trading. For individual stocks, data from BIT (bit.com) shows the semiconductor index and banking index both closed down more than 1%, while Micron rose 4.06% against the trend; Meta fell over 2%, and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike dropped nearly 5%. Additionally, markets are monitoring the coordinated oil reserve release by multiple countries. Data from Bitget shows crude oil turned negative during trading: Brent crude, after rising 2% intraday, swung to a nearly 1% loss, while U.S. WTI crude settled at a new low in over a month. Gold retreated to a two-month low, dropping more than 2% intraday. In the crypto market, data from HTX shows Bitcoin fell below $83,000 overnight, then found brief support, and is currently trading at $83,234.80.