Gold pulled back around 1% amid equity volatility and a firmer dollar. Persistent gold weakness may reflect reduced safe-haven demand and a tilt toward risk-on positioning (equity-positive), but if the driver is higher real yields or USD strength, that becomes a headwind for growth stocks and commodities.

Brent crude fell about 1.5% as rising optimism around a potential Russia-Ukraine peace agreement lifted expectations of future oil supply. That downside in oil is a double-edged signal for equities: it eases input and transport costs—supportive for European and Japanese industrials and exporters—but can also hint at softer global demand, which would weigh on growth-sensitive markets. In contrast, U.S. natural-gas futures surged to roughly $4.62/MMBtu on colder-than-expected early-winter forecasts ahead of EIA storage data.

A continued gas rally could buoy energy-linked stocks and broader indices, yet it also raises inflation and utility-cost concerns, a bigger risk for rate-sensitive tech in the Nasdaq and for manufacturing-heavy DAX and Nikkei components.

Overall, the commodity mix points to strong near-term domestic energy demand (gas) alongside possible global growth softness (oil) and fading hedging demand (gold). Key catalysts to watch today: the EIA natural-gas storage report (a smaller-than-expected build would extend the rally), any further concrete peace-deal developments pressuring Brent, and USD/interest-rate moves that could amplify cross-asset volatility—especially in tech and export-driven regions like Japan and Germany.