Global markets were mixed on Thursday as softer US inflation and a surge in Micron reignited the AI trade and lifted Wall Street and Europe, while Asia lagged amid persistent tech-valuation worries and central-bank caution. Easing price pressures supported risk appetite in the US and Europe, but China growth concerns and renewed sector rotation kept sentiment uneven across the region.
US stocks rose on Thursday as softer-than-expected CPI data and a blowout forecast from Micron helped markets recover from the recent tech-driven selloff. The NASDAQ jumped +1.7%, with the S&P 500 up +1.0% and the DOW +0.4% after headline inflation cooled to 2.7% and core CPI eased to 2.6%, both below expectations. Micron surged +13.4% after beating fiscal first-quarter estimates and issuing strong guidance, sparking a broad AI rebound that lifted Alphabet (+2.2%), Nvidia (+2.3%), Amazon (+2.4%), AMD (+2.2%), Meta (+2.5%), Microsoft (+2.2%), and Tesla +4.7%. Lululemon climbed +5.1% following news that activist Elliott Management had built over a $1 billion stake and is pushing CEO candidates. Trump Media shares jumped +39.0% after agreeing to a $6 billion merger with fusion-energy firm Tae Technologies, while Rocket Lab shot up +9.3% on accelerating launch momentum and new government-backed projects. The US two-year yield fell -4bp to 3.481% while the 10-year yield fell -2bp to 4.129%.
European stocks closed higher on Thursday as traders positioned around a wave of central-bank decisions, lifting the STOXX 600 by +1.0%. The Bank of England cut rates by 25bp, while the ECB held policy steady and signalled no further reductions in the near term; Sweden’s Riksbank and Norway’s Norges Bank also kept rates unchanged. Softer US inflation and improving French manufacturing confidence aided sentiment, pushing the UK’s FTSE 100 up +0.6%, Germany’s DAX higher by +1.0% and France’s CAC 40 up +0.8%. Whitbread led gains, jumping +6.3% after receiving approval to convert a former London office building into a hotel.
Asian stocks fell on Thursday as regional markets tracked the sharp tech-led declines on Wall Street, with investors growing increasingly cautious over lofty AI valuations and softer sentiment ahead of key central-bank decisions. China’s Shanghai Composite inched up +0.2% as China Vanke began a second round of talks with bondholders to extend debt repayments, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended +0.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid -1.0% as concerns over AI and data-centre profitability persisted and traders looked ahead to Friday’s BoJ meeting, where rates are expected to reach a three-decade high. South Korea’s Kospi fell -1.5%, with LG Energy Solution plunging -8.9% after Ford cancelled a US$6.5 billion battery deal. Australia’s ASX 200 finished flat as gains in major miners offset weakness in energy—Woodside fell -2.7% after CEO Meg O’Neill resigned to join BP—while New Zealand’s NZX 50 dipped -0.3% despite robust Q3 GDP growth, dragged down by The a2 Milk Company (-2.2%) and Hallenstein Glasson (-2.0%).
WTI crude rose +0.9% to US$56.47/bbl, gold slipped -0.2% to US$4,332.75/oz and silver fell -1.5% to US$65.27/oz.