- Oil prices climb on U.S. trade optimism, drop in crude stockpiles: Markets Wrap
Oil prices rose on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over U.S. trade negotiations that would ease pressure on the
global economy and a sharper-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures gained 67
cents, or 0.98%, to close at $69.18 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 78 cents, or
1.2%, to settle at $66.03 per barrel. Both benchmarks were little changed on Wednesday as markets monitored
developments in U.S.-European Union trade talks, following President Donald Trump’s tariff deal with Japan.
The agreement lowers duties on auto imports and spares Tokyo from new levies in exchange for a $550 billion
package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. - S&P 500, Nasdaq close at fresh records following solid Alphabet earnings
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite eked out record closes on Thursday after Alphabet’s latest quarterly
results came in better than expected. The broad market index added 0.07% to end at 6,363.35, and the tech
heavy Nasdaq rose 0.18% to close at 21,057.96. Both indexes sharply curtailed their gains as the session ended.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 316.38 points, or 0.70%, to settle at 44,693.91. The 30-stock Dow was
bogged down by shares of IBM slipping more than 7% after its second-quarter software revenue missed
expectations. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had scored new intraday all-time highs earlier in the session,
bolstered by a 1% move higher in Alphabet shares after the Google parent posted a second-quarter earnings
and revenue beat. - Safe-haven gold slips as trade optimism lifts risk appetite
Gold prices fell for a day on Thursday, as signs of easing global trade tensions dampened demand for safe
haven assets. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $3,367.72 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.7% lower at
$3,373.5. The market is optimistic about trade deals — first between the U.S. and Japan, and now possibly
between the U.S. and the European Union, said Aakash Doshi of State Street Investment Management, adding
that strong equities and low volatility have weighed on gold’s upside. The U.S. and EU were making progress
toward a trade deal that may include a 15% baseline U.S. tariff on EU goods, with potential exemptions. The
move comes shortly after Washington unveiled a separate agreement with Japan. - 10-year Treasury yield inches higher after more signs of solid labour market
The 10-year Treasury yield rose on Thursday on the heels of recent U.S. economic data signalling that the
labour market is holding up. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was less than 2 basis points higher
at 4.402%. The 2-year yield gained 3 basis points to 3.914%, while the 30-year yield was less than 1 basis point
lower at 4.947%. Yields took a leg higher early Thursday after the latest jobless claims figures came in below
estimates. Jobless claims for the week that ended July 19 totalled a seasonally adjusted 217,000. That was less
than the 4,000 from the week before and below the 227,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had
pencilled in. - Trump spars with Powell over renovation costs during Fed visit, but says ‘not necessary’ to fire chairman
President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell went back and forth in front of the press
Thursday over Trump’s claims about cost overruns at the Fed headquarters in Washington. The stunning side
by-side took place as Trump began touring the Fed building in what is widely seen as the latest chapter in his
pressure campaign to get Powell to lower interest rates or resign as the central bank chairman. After the two
men approached the press wearing white hard hats, Trump asserted that construction costs for the ongoing
renovation of two historic Fed buildings have topped $3.1 billion. When a reporter asked if Powell could say
anything that get Trump to back off his criticism, the president said, “Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates.”
The unprecedented visit began just before 4 p.m. ET. Trump said before arriving that he would be joined by
Powell and numerous administration officials, as well as two Republican senators. - European Central Bank holds interest rates as tariff turmoil keeps policymakers on edge
The European Central Bank on Thursday kept interest rates steady amid major economic uncertainty, as the
European Union scrambles to negotiate a trade agreement with the U.S. before the end of the month. The ECB
has cut interest rates at each of its four meetings so far this year, taking its key deposit facility from 3% in
January to 2% in June. Last year it reduced rates from a record high of 4%. “The environment remains
exceptionally uncertain, especially because of trade disputes,” the ECB said in a statement, adding that
its inflation and growth outlook from June remained supported by recent data. ECB officials have been
suggesting for some time that their work in bringing down inflation is nearly done, as it hunts for the so-called
neutral level at which rates are neither stimulating, nor restricting growth. - Zelenskyy signals retreat from power grab after mass protests in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to soften his stance on bringing the country’s anti
corruption bodies under executive control on Thursday, approving a new bill that he said would guarantee the
agencies’ independence after taking advice from the UK prime minister. Zelenskyy said the bill would be
submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukraine parliament. Zelenskyy’s statement and his call with Starmer
came after the Ukrainian leader’s push to subordinate the agencies to his handpicked prosecutor-general
sparked the largest anti-government demonstrations in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion. - EU and China say ‘green is the colour of co-operation’ in climate leadership pledge
China and the EU have issued a joint statement agreeing to “demonstrate leadership” ahead of the UN COP30
summit in Brazil, in an effort to galvanise climate action amid geopolitical tensions. The agreement at a summit
in Beijing pledged to deliver updated climate plans for 2035 and affirmed support for the Paris accord,
emphasising “green is the defining colour of China-EU co-operation”. This included co-operation on
accelerating the rollout of global renewable energy, carbon markets and green and low-carbon technologies,
as well as tightened control of methane emissions which worsen near-term global warming.
Climate action is seen as a rare area for co-operation between the two economies, given the vacuum left by
the US following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement for the second time. - India expects ‘preferential’ tariffs in a trade deal with U.S., says India’s commerce minister
India expects to secure “preferential” tariffs from the United States that are better than those achieved by its
economic rivals, according to India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal, who led the
negotiations on the U.K.-India trade agreement, signalled a confident approach from New Delhi in ongoing
trade talks with Washington. “India will get a preferential tariff compared to our peers and our competitors,
because we were amongst the first to get into negotiations and our discussions, our engagement is truly very,
very significant,” Goyal told CNBC on Thursday. - Musk’s Starlink hit with outage day after rollout of T-Mobile satellite service
Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink said it had a “network outage” on Thursday. The company said it
was working on a solution. There were more than 60,000 reports of an outage on Downdetector, a site that
logs issues. Musk posted earlier Thursday that the company’s direct-to-cell-phone service was “growing fast”
following the announcement that T-Mobile’s Starlink-powered satellite service was available to the public.T
Mobile said the T-Satellite service was built to keep phones connected “in places no carrier towers can reach.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if the T-Satellite service was affected by or involved in the outage. - Nvidia addresses AI chip smuggling, says bootleg data centres are a ‘losing proposition’
Nvidia said Thursday that data centres built with smuggled chips are a “losing proposition” and that it does not
support unauthorized products. The statement came in response to a news report that at least $1 billion worth
of its artificial intelligence chips illegally entered China. Nvidia’s B200 chips, which are prohibited from being
sold to China, have become popular on the black market despite restrictions, citing sales contracts, company
filings and people familiar with the deals. Chinese distributors began selling the chips in May to data centre
suppliers whose customers include Chinese AI groups, the report said. - Walmart bets on AI super agents to boost e-commerce growth
Walmart unveiled plans on Thursday to roll out a suite of AI-powered “super agents” designed to improve the
shopping experience for customers and streamline operations. The world’s largest retailer said the four agents
powered by agentic AI – designed for Walmart shoppers, store employees, suppliers and sellers, and software
developers – would soon be the primary way people engage with Walmart. The super agents will be the entry
point for every AI interaction these groups have with Walmart, replacing several existing agents and AI tools,
along with new ones yet to be built, the company said. Walmart is betting on AI to drive its e-commerce growth,
aiming for online sales to account for 50% of its total sales within five years. The company reported annual
sales of $648 billion last year. By harnessing AI to streamline the shopping process – from discovering new
products and helping with returns to improving delivery speeds – the retailer hopes it can attract more shoppers
away from Amazon, which has also introduced a range of AI-powered tools for sellers and shoppers. - Intel beats shareholder lawsuit over $32 billion stock plunge
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Intel of defrauding shareholders by concealing problems in a
business where it manufactured chips for outside customers, leading to a $32 billion one-day plunge in its
market value. While saying she “understands plaintiffs’ frustrations,” U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in San
Francisco ruled on Wednesday that Intel did not wait too long to reveal a $7 billion fiscal 2023 operating loss
in its foundry business. Intel’s stock price sank 26% last August 2, one day after the chipmaker announced more
than 15,000 layoffs and suspended its dividend, hoping to save $10 billion in 2025. The Santa Clara, California
based company created the foundry business in 2021 to serve customers including Amazon and Qualcomm,
while still making chips and wafers for internal use. - Chevron to resume oil operations in Venezuela under Trump administration
Chevron Corp is set to regain permission to pump oil in Venezuela from the Trump administration, according
to The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the situation. While specific details of the agreement remain
unclear, the development follows recent discussions involving President Trump and Secretary of State Marco
Rubio. The timing also coincides with last week’s prisoner swap that secured the release of all 10 remaining
Americans who the Venezuelan government detained. According to two people familiar with the terms, the
agreement would ensure no royalties or taxes would flow to the Maduro regime, though the exact mechanisms
for this arrangement have not been fully disclosed. This represents a policy reversal for the Trump
administration, which earlier this year had revoked Chevron’s license to pump oil in Venezuela that had been
granted during the Biden administration. - Nestle flags further potential price hikes as tariffs, commodities weigh on margins
Swiss food giant Nestle said Thursday that prices for its KitKat bars and Nespresso coffee pods could rise further
in the second half of this year, as U.S. tariffs risk exacerbating existing commodity price pressures. CEO Laurent
Freixe said that he was “satisfied” with broad price hikes implemented in the first half of the year, but said that
company was still considering whether further action would be needed. “Will we need a bit more [pricing
action]?” Freixe said on earnings call in response to a question on pricing action. Nestle shares were down
4.9% by 10:50 a.m. London time. The world’s largest packaged goods company posted better-than-expected
first-half organic sales growth as it leaned on price hikes to offset higher input costs for its coffee and cocoa
related products. - FCC approves $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger
The Federal Communications Commission cleared the way Thursday for an $8-billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. The deal, which was announced more than a year ago, includes the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures and the Nickelodeon channel. The FCC chairman noted that Skydance does not have any DEI programs in place and has agreed not to establish any
such initiatives at the new company. Paramount chair Shari Redstone is set to depart the company’s board
once the Skydance merger is complete. Her family’s company National Amusements is selling its controlling
stake in Paramount to Skydance. Skydance is owned by David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder and billionaire
Larry Ellison.
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