How did the U.S. Treasury Department’s softer than expected Iran sanctions announcement affect global financial markets—including oil, European equities, government bond yields, the dollar, and Bitcoin—and what major events and risks are investors now watching, particularly Nvidi

The announcement was treated as less immediately disruptive to Iran-linked energy flows than feared: Washington broadened the scope for secondary sanctions but gave countries time to comply. That eased the near-term oil-supply shock, lowered government-bond yields, and left broader risk appetite mixed rather than triggering a full risk-off move. 16

• Oil: Crude fell by more than $2 a barrel—after an earlier roughly 1.5% decline—as traders concluded the measures did not immediately remove large volumes from the market. 23
• European equities: Europe’s STOXX 600 ended essentially flat. Cheaper oil and lower yields offered support, but technology weakness and uncertainty over Iran constrained gains. 83
• Government bonds: U.S. Treasury yields declined, helped by the oil retreat and relief that sanctions were not immediately more punitive; that bond-market relief partly supported equities. 37
• Dollar and Bitcoin: The dollar nevertheless rose from near three-month lows, aided by the Iran measures and trade-policy uncertainty. Bitcoin rose modestly to around $79,000, suggesting no decisive flight from risk assets or into crypto. 14

What markets are watching now

• Nvidia: Its Wednesday results are a critical test of the AI-led rally. Consensus expects about $92 billion in quarterly revenue; investors will focus especially on forward demand and guidance, not just the headline result. 51
• Fed policy: Chair Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole keynote on Friday is important because markets want to know how he weighs persistent inflation, higher long-term yields, and growth—and whether policy will remain demonstrably independent amid political pressure. 61
• PCE inflation: This week’s PCE data, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, can shift expectations for September. The market-implied probability of a September rate increase is roughly 40%, so a hot reading or a hawkish Warsh message could push yields, the dollar, and rate-sensitive equities higher/lower abruptly. 2
• Core macro and geopolitical risks: Investors are balancing fragile energy supply routes and the risk of escalation in Iran, tariff and trade disruptions, stretched fiscal positions and long-dated debt supply, stubborn inflation, and the possibility that rising oil prices and bond yields damage growth and the AI-equity valuation story. 63

The key distinction is that the sanctions reprieved markets only on immediacy, not on risk: implementation details, retaliation, enforcement against Iran’s trading partners, and any further disruption to oil shipping could quickly reverse the initial oil-and-yield decline. 16