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The US stocks declined for a second consecutive day on Wednesday. The Dow Jones (US30) dropped 0.37%, the S&P 500 (US500) was down 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (US100) fell by 0.31%. Individual stocks also saw mixed results. Nvidia dropped almost 1% despite announcing a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI. Oracle fell by 1.7%, and Micron Technology was down 2.9% even after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Conversely, Alibaba’s pledge to increase AI spending beyond its initial $50 billion commitment lifted its US-listed shares by 8.2%. Broader market sentiment was weighed down by overvaluation concerns after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that inflation and labor market risks persist and warned that stock prices remain overvalued. On the economic front, new home sales unexpectedly rose in August, a bright spot amid fears of slowing growth and seasonal market weakness.

The Canadian dollar (CAD) fell to a four-month low, breaking the 1.39 mark against the US dollar. This was driven by weaker domestic data and a strengthening US dollar. Markets are repricing a more aggressive easing path for the Bank of Canada (BoC) after the Central Bank cut its policy rate and signaled the possibility of further easing, which reduced the appeal of CAD fixed-income assets. At the same time, the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August was 1.9%, with core measures largely holding steady, giving the BoC room to ease and lowering the incentive for foreign capital to remain in the country.

European stock markets were mixed yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed down 0.57%, Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) gained 0.24%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed down 0.04%. The DAX in Frankfurt saw a slight gain for the second day, primarily supported by defense stocks following comments from Donald Trump about Ukraine. Trump signaled a major policy shift on Tuesday, suggesting that Ukraine could retake all its territory from Russia. In other news, German business sentiment in September unexpectedly dropped sharply from August, according to IFO data. On the corporate front, defense companies like Renk (+7%), Hensoldt (+6.7%), and Rheinmetall (+3.5%) were notable standouts. Other top performers included Commerzbank (+4.4%), Zalando (+2.7%), and Siemens Energy (+2.3%).

WTI crude oil prices rose over 2% to the $65 per barrel mark on Wednesday, extending a 1.8% gain from the previous session. This was fueled by a drop in US crude inventories, which intensified supply concerns. Data from the EIA showed that US crude oil inventories fell by 0.607 million barrels, defying market expectations for a build. This came after talks to resume oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan stalled as two major producers demanded debt repayment guarantees, keeping pipeline flows to Turkey halted. Geopolitical risks also continued to support prices, as NATO pledged a “resolute” response to Russia’s airspace incursions and Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and pipelines.

Asian markets were mostly higher yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) rose by 0.30%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) gained 0.47%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) was up 1.37%, while Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) finished the day down 0.92%.

Sentiment improved after reports that China is developing new regulations to boost competition in the food delivery sector, including capping service fees for restaurants, increasing subsidy transparency, and limiting platform fees. Alibaba rose nearly 10% after pledging over $53 billion in AI investments, surpassing its previous target, and releasing a new model. However, further gains were capped by concerns over Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful cyclone this year. Cathay Pacific announced it would cancel more than 500 regional flights, reposition aircraft, and gradually resume operations from Thursday into Friday.

The Australian dollar (AUD) rose to $0.659 on Thursday, recovering some of its losses from the previous session, as reduced bets on domestic policy easing outweighed a strengthening US dollar. Investors scaled back expectations for a near-term rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) after recent data showed Australia’s monthly CPI grew by 3.0% in August, the fastest pace in a year and slightly above expectations of 2.9%. Markets are now pricing in just a 6.5% chance of a 0.25% rate cut at the RBA’s meeting next week, and a 38.2% chance of a cut at the following meeting in November.

• S&P 500 (US500) 6,637.97 −18.95 (−0.28%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 46,121.28 −171.50 (−0.37%)
• DAX (DE40) 23,666.81 +55.48 (+0.23%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 9,250.43 +27.11 (+0.29%)
• USD Index 97.89 +0.63 (+0.64%)
   

News feed for: 2025.09.25

• Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes (m/m) at 02:50 (GMT+3);
• Switzerland SNB Policy Rate at 10:30 (GMT+3);
• Switzerland SNB Monetary Policy Assessment at 10:30 (GMT+3);
• US GDP (q/q) at 15:30 (GMT+3);
• US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 15:30 (GMT+3);
• US Durable Goods Orders (m/m) at 15:30 (GMT+3);
• US Existing Home Sales (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3);
• US Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+3);
• Mexico Banxico Interest Rate Decision at 22:00 (GMT+3).

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