US Private Credit Jitters Send FTSE, Dax, and Nikkei Tumbling

Jitters over the US private credit market sent a shockwave across global exchanges, causing the FTSE 100, Germany’s Dax, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 to tumble. The Dax fell 1.8%, while the Nikkei dropped 1.6%.
The anxiety stemmed from two US regional banks, Zions and Western Alliance, which reported significant exposures to bad loans. This sparked a sell-off on Wall Street that spread overnight to Asia and continued into the European session.
The banking sector was the worst-hit. European lenders lost €37.4 billion in value, with shares of major banks like Barclays and Deutsche Bank plunging. This raised fears of a domino effect, especially following other recent credit-related bankruptcies.
The market turmoil fueled a “wall of worry,” sending investors fleeing to safe havens. Gold prices hit an all-time high of $4,378 an ounce. The VIX “fear index” also surged, signaling a sharp rise in investor uncertainty.