India’s Nifty 50 hit a record high Thursday as Asia-Pacific markets tracked Wall Street gains on Fed rate-cut hopes and tech rebound. The Nifty hit 26,284.2, the benchmark stock index had last hit a record high in September 2024. The BSE Sensex was also hovering close to a new high, up 0.16%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.42%, led by tech stocks, while the Topix index added 0.64%. Among the top movers were Advantest, which jumped as much as 5%, tech conglomerate SoftBank, which soared more than 5%, and Tokyo Electron, which was up 2.09%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.05%, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.39%. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.42%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.12% at the open, and the mainland CSI 300 was flat.
Stocks rose on Wednesday, allowing the major averages to log their fourth straight day of gains ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 314.67 points, or 0.67%, to finish at 47,427.12. The S&P 500 climbed 0.69% to settle at 6,812.61, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.82% to close at 23,214.69. The broader market’s gains were bolstered by artificial intelligence player Oracle, which jumped more than 4% after Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its bullish stance on the name. Nvidia shares moved up more than 1%, recovering from a recent pullback, while fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Microsoft traded more than 2% higher. Investors continue to monitor catalysts that could affect the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate move.
Gold was broadly steady on Thursday after hitting a near two-week high in the previous session, as market participants weighed the possibility of a December U.S. interest rate cut amid conflicting signals from the Federal Reserve. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,154.09 per ounce, as of 0200 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.3% to $4,151.20 per ounce. Conflicting signals on the timing and magnitude of rate cuts have accelerated, hedging flows into swaptions and derivatives tied to overnight rates, with investors seeking protection against heightened policy uncertainty. Some Fed officials, led by New York Fed President John Williams and Governor Christopher Waller, have stated a December easing may be warranted due to the labour market weakness putting downward pressure on Treasury yields.
Oil prices fell on Thursday on expectations of a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire which could pave the way for the unwinding of Western sanctions against Russian supply, though trading was set to remain thin due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Brent crude futures shed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.92 a barrel as of 0108 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 21 cents, or 0.4%, to $58.44 a barrel. Both contracts settled about 1% higher on Wednesday as investors assessed oversupply risk and the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
U.K. government borrowing costs were rocky on Wednesday after the country’s Office for Budget Responsibility unexpectedly released its economic and fiscal forecasts ahead of the Autumn Budget. Yields on the benchmark 10-year gilt were last seen 6 basis points lower, while shorter-term 5-year gilt yields fell by more than 5 basis points. When the report was initially released, 10-year yields fell as much as 4 basis points, before reversing course to gain as many as 4 basis points. The OBR was scheduled to publish its forecasts following the budget, which Finance Minister Rachel Reeves began delivering in parliament at 12:30 p.m. London time (7:30 a.m. ET). As she began speaking, Reeves labelled the early release of the OBR’s outlook “deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part.” The budget will see taxes on dividends, property and savings income increased by 2 percentage points, the OBR also revealed, which is expected to raise £2.1 billion.
All eyes are now on Russia’s response to a fledgling peace plan to end the war in Ukraine after Kyiv appeared willing to move forward with a U.S.-backed framework. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Wednesday that “the content [of the U.S. plan] will be discussed,” at the meeting, and claimed Russian officials had not discussed a U.S.-backed plan when talks were held with U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Ushakov said Russia had not yet officially received the U.S.-backed draft deal for Ukraine but had seen an unofficial version. Regarding the plan it had seen, Ushakov said the Kremlin viewed some aspects of the plan positively while “several of its points require serious analysis.”
Taiwan will introduce a supplementary defence budget of 1.25 trillion Taiwanese dollars ($40 billion) as Beijing accelerates military preparations near the island, President Lai Ching-te said at a press briefing Wednesday. China has continued to increase military drills and so-called “gray-zone harassment” around Taiwan, with the goal of seizing the island by force by 2027, Lai said, according to a CNBC translation of his remarks in Mandarin. The speech comes in the aftermath of a diplomatic dispute between China and Japan over Taiwan. Lai added that Beijing had intensified its “infiltration and influence campaign,” using a range of tools to interfere in Taiwan’s politics and society as it seeks to sway public opinion and undermine the island’s democracy. He also cautioned “unprecedented military buildup” by Beijing and “intensifying provocations in the Taiwan Strait, in the East and South China Seas, and across the Indo-Pacific.”
Britain’s economy is forecast to grow by 1.4% next year, according to estimates by the country’s budget watchdog published on its website on Wednesday ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget statement. The new figure compared with a growth forecast for 2026 of 1.9% in the OBR’s previous outlook published in March, when finance minister Rachel Reeves delivered her spring statement. The OBR expects economic output to expand by 1.5% in 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. Those forecasts compared with the OBR’s previous expectations for growth of 1.8%, 1.7% and 1.8% in 2027, 2028, and 2029 respectively. Growth in 2025 was upgraded to 1.5%, up from the previous forecast of 1.0%.
Apple is set to ship more smartphones than Samsung in 2025, the first time it will have done so in 14 years, Counterpoint Research said in a note on Wednesday. Apple will ship around 243 million iPhone units this year versus 235 million shipments from Samsung, Counterpoint told CNBC. Apple is likely to end up with a 19.4% share of the global smartphone market while Samsung’s share will be 18.7%. Shipments refer to the number of devices vendors ship to retail channels and do not directly equal sales. However, they provide insights into demand and expectations of sales from smartphone makers. Apple’s success is being driven by its iPhone 17 series launched in September, which, according to Counterpoint, had a “bumper” holiday sales season.
Uber on Wednesday rolled out fully driverless rides in its fourth market, launching the service in Abu Dhabi in partnership WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company. The ride-hailing company said the launch in the United Arab Emirates capital represents the first driverless robotaxi service in the Middle East. In the U.S., Uber already offers robotaxi services in Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta through Alphabet’s Waymo. Riders in Abu Dhabi can book a WeRide robotaxi when requesting an UberX or Uber Comfort ride, the ride-hailing company said. WeRide, which is listed on the Nasdaq, formed its partnership with Uber in September 2024 and began offering autonomous rides with an operator on board in Abu Dhabi last December. Uber and WeRide also debuted robotaxi rides with a safety operator on board in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, in October.
Chinese sportswear brand ANTA Sports is among the firms exploring a potential takeover of German peer Puma SE, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong-listed firm has been working with an adviser to evaluate a bid for Puma, Bloomberg reported, and may even team up with a private equity firm if it decides to proceed with the deal. Other potential bidders for Puma could also include rival Chinese apparel firm Li Ning, as well as Japan’s Asics Corp, the report said. Talks over a deal were still preliminary, the report said, with valuation expectations from Puma’s biggest shareholder, the billionaire Pinault family, presenting a potential hurdle. Takeover interest in Puma has swirled in recent years, as the German retailer largely fell behind peers in sales and market share. The company has been persistently trying to revamp itself under new CEO Arthur Hoeld.