Shares of South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics hit record highs Friday, after a near-weeklong holiday, boosted by a series of artificial intelligence deals. SK Hynix shares jumped 10% while Samsung Electronics rose nearly 6% to hit fresh records. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.33% while the Topix declined 0.92%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.66% after coming back from a holiday. The small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.37%. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 lost 0.26%. The Hang Seng Index slid 1%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 1.01%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pulled back from fresh all-time intraday highs on Thursday, with both indexes taking a breather from their gains in the previous session as the U.S. government shutdown continues. The broad market index dropped 0.28% to close at 6,735.11, while the tech-heavy index slid 0.08% to finish at 23,024.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 243.36 points, or 0.52%, to close at 46,358.42. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were coming off a record-setting session Wednesday, with the latter ending above the 23,000 mark for the first time ever.
Gold prices fell over 1% on Thursday, dipping below the $4,000/oz milestone breached for the first time in the previous session, as the dollar pushed higher and gold investors booked profits following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Silver, spurred by momentum in the gold market, strong investment demand and a persistent supply deficit, rose above $50 per ounce for the first time. Spot gold fell 1.1% to $3,993.41 per ounce. The U.S. dollar index was up 0.5% and hovered near a two-month high, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
Oil prices edged slightly lower on Thursday after Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement to cease fire in Gaza. Brent crude futures fell $1.03, or 1.55%, to close at $65.22 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost $1.04, or 1.66%, to settle at $61.51. The deal, representing the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, involves an immediate cessation of hostilities, a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Shares of U.S. rare earth and critical mineral miners surged Thursday after China tightened restrictions on exports. USA Rare Earth soared 15%, NioCorp Developments surged about 12%, and Energy Fuels advanced over 9%. Beijing is now requiring foreign entities to obtain a license to export products that contain rare earths worth 0.1% or more of the goods’ value. Companies also need export licenses if they use China’s extraction, refining, or magnet recycling technology. This has fueled speculation that the Trump administration will invest more aggressively in a domestic supply chain.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. While uncertainty remains regarding the broader ceasefire plan advanced by the Trump administration—including details on Hamas disarming and Gaza's future governance—the sides are closer than they have been in months to ending the conflict. The war has killed tens of thousands, reduced Gaza to rubble, and triggered several regional conflicts since October 2023.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration plans to use the ongoing government shutdown to permanently cut programs popular with Democrats. “We’re only cutting Democrat programs,” Trump stated during a Cabinet meeting. He specifyied that these were “very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans.” Trump doubled down on blaming Democrats for the shutdown, which is now in its ninth day, stating they will “get a little taste of their own medicine.”
Two funding bills that could end the federal government shutdown failed to pass in Senate votes for the seventh time on Thursday. The votes on duelling Republican and Democratic stop-gap funding proposals came as fallout from the crisis spread, with the IRS furloughing nearly half of its workforce. The Senate voted 54-45 against the GOP-backed bill, which would fund the government through Nov. 21, and rejected the Democratic bill in a 47-50 party-line vote.
Tesla is facing a federal investigation into possible safety defects with its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system. The NHTSA opened a Preliminary Evaluation following 44 reports of vehicles running red lights, steering into oncoming traffic, or committing other safety violations that led to collisions and injuries. The investigation concerns an estimated 2,882,566 Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD (Supervised) or FSD (Beta). This comes as the administration considers doing away with certain crash reporting rules, creating a political schism over autonomous vehicle monitoring.
Novo Nordisk announced it would buy U.S.-based Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion to gain access to a promising liver disease drug candidate. The deal, led by new CEO Mike Doustdar, signals a focus on obesity and diabetes drugs that can also treat related cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH. Akero’s drug candidate, efruxifermin, is currently in late-stage trials for treating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
Latin American e-commerce firm MercadoLibre will test the waters for online pharmaceutical sales in Brazil through its newly acquired drugstore. While the firm already sells medicines in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, this marks its first entry into the multi-billion-dollar online medicine market in Brazil, its largest market. Local law requires companies selling pharmaceuticals to own physical locations, which prompted the acquisition.
AstraZeneca broke ground on a new $4.5 billion manufacturing facility in Albemarle County, Virginia, responding to President Trump's call for onshoring drug manufacturing. The site will be the company's largest worldwide, creating 600 permanent high-skill jobs and 3,000 construction jobs. The investment is part of a broader $50 billion plan to expand U.S. research and manufacturing by 2030. The plant will produce drug substances for metabolic diseases and oncology, leveraging AI and automation to optimize production.
PepsiCo topped Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit, aided by steady international demand and growth in healthier drinks in the U.S. The company named Steve Schmitt, formerly of Walmart, as its new CFO to succeed the retiring Jamie Caulfield. PepsiCo remains under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management and faces scrutiny from the Trump administration over synthetic flavors.
General Motors is bringing back its affordable Bolt electric vehicle with a starting price of just under $30,000. The move aims to widen GM's EV offerings as higher prices and fewer federal subsidies pressure consumers. The new Bolt will feature Tesla’s North American Charging Standard and an expected range of 255 miles. A cheaper variant is scheduled to follow later in the year.
Intel unveiled key details of its upcoming Panther Lake laptop processor, the first chip built on its next-generation 18A production process. Aimed at high-end, AI-enabled laptops, the chip integrated graphics and central processors deliver 50% faster performance than previous generations. Production will begin this year, with broad availability expected by January 2026, as Intel seeks to reclaim PC market share from AMD.
TSMC reported a 30% year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue, reaching T$989.92 billion ($32.47 billion). The result beat market forecasts and landed at the mid-point of guidance. The surge is attributed to jumping demand for products fueled by interest in artificial intelligence applications. TSMC remains the world's largest contract chipmaker, benefiting heavily from the ongoing AI infrastructure build-out.