1. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday, tracking Wall Street declines as investors assessed the state of the economy.
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, according to data from FactSet. 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%.
2. Stocks close lower as S&P 500, Nasdaq retreat from record highs
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 on. 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. At their highs of the day, the S&P 500 added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, 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 former notching its eighth winning day of the last nine and the latter ending above the 23,000 mark for the first time ever.
3. Gold falls below $4,000, silver surpasses $50 for first time
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, by 12:38 p.m. ET (1638 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 1.6% to $4,006.40. 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. Bullion surged past $4,000 per ounce for the first time on Wednesday, reaching a record high of $4,059.05.
4. Oil eases over 1.5% after Gaza ceasefire
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. Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s to end the war in Gaza. Under the agreement, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, and Hamas will free all remaining hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel.
.5. Rare earths stocks surge after China tightens grip on global supplies
Shares of U.S. rare earth and critical mineral miners surged Thursday after China tightened restrictions on exports, fuelling market speculation that the Trump administration will move more aggressively to invest in building out a domestic supply chain. USA Rare Earth soared 15%, NioCorp Developments surged about 12%, Ramaco Resources rallied more than 11%, Energy Fuels advanced over 9%, and MP Materials gained more than 2%. Albemarle popped about 5%, Trilogy Metals rose nearly 4%, and Lithium Americas advanced about 2%. 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, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. Companies will also need export licenses if they use China’s extraction, refining or magnet recycling technology.
6. Israel and Hamas will exchange hostages and prisoners after agreeing to a pause in the war in Gaza
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners — a breakthrough greeted Thursday with joy and relief but also caution. Uncertainty remains about aspects of the broader ceasefire plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in Gaza. The war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.
7. Trump threatens to use government shutdown to cut ‘popular Democrat programs’
President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration plans to use the ongoing government shutdown to permanently cut government programs popular with Democrats, his latest threat amid the funding stalemate. “We’re only cutting Democrat programs,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. It was not immediately clear which programs Trump had in mind, but he specified that they were “very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly.” “They wanted to do this,” Trump said, doubling down on blaming Democrats for the shutdown. They will “get a little taste of their own medicine,” he added. The president’s threat to target Democratic priorities came one week after he initially floated the idea of inflicting pain on his political opponents during the shutdown, which is now in its ninth day.
8. Funding bills to end government shutdown fail in Senate vote for seventh time
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 on the ninth day of the shutdown, and as fallout from the crisis spread. The IRS on Wednesday said that it was furloughing nearly half of its workforce because of the lack of funding by Congress. Lawmakers showed no indication that they are open to yielding on their respective party’s demands. The Senate voted against the GOP-backed bill, which would fund the government through Nov. 21, in a 54-45 vote. On Thursday, the Senate rejected the Democratic bill in a 47-50 party-line vote.
9. Tesla faces U.S. auto safety probe after reports FSD ran red lights, caused collisions
Tesla is facing a federal investigation into possible safety defects with FSD, its partially automated driving system that is also known as Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Media, vehicle owner and other incident reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 44 separate incidents, Tesla drivers using FSD said the system caused them to run a red light, steer into oncoming traffic or commit other traffic safety violations leading to collisions, including some that injured people. In a notice posted to the agency’s website on Thursday, NHTSA said the investigation concerns “all Tesla vehicles that have been equipped with FSD (Supervised) or FSD (Beta),” which is an estimated 2,882,566 of the company’s electric cars.
10. Novo Nordisk to buy Akero for up to $5.2 billion in new CEO’s revival push
Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it would buy U.S.-based Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion to gain access to a promising liver disease drug candidate, in the first major deal by the Danish drugmaker’s new CEO to spur growth. Mike Doustdar, who took the helm at the Wegovy maker in July, has signalled a focus on new, highly effective obesity and diabetes drugs that can also treat related cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH, rather than expanding into other areas. Akero’s drug candidate, efruxifermin, is currently in late-stage trials for treating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
11. MercadoLibre to enter Brazil’s online medicine market after acquiring first drugstore
Latin American e-commerce firm MercadoLibre will test the waters for online pharmaceutical sales in Brazil through its newly acquired drugstore, its local head said on Thursday, a first step in entering the country’s multi-billion-dollar online medicine market. Uruguay-based MercadoLibre, Latin America’s largest company by market cap, already sells medicines online in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, but not in Brazil, the firm’s largest market. In a call with journalists, executive Fernando Yunes confirmed recent media reports that MercadoLibre had acquired a physical drugstore in Brazil, a requirement under local law for companies selling pharmaceuticals.
12. AstraZeneca breaks ground at $4.5 billion Virginia plant as drugmakers court Trump
AstraZeneca broke ground on a new plant in Virginia on Thursday and said it would spend $4.5 billion on the facility as drugmakers look to respond to President Donald Trump’s call for more medicines to be made in the U.S. and at lower costs. The site in Albemarle County, about 120 miles (193 km) southwest of Washington, will be the Anglo-Swedish company’s largest manufacturing facility worldwide. The investment is part of AstraZeneca’s plan announced in July to spend $50 billion to expand U.S. research and manufacturing by 2030. AstraZeneca said on Thursday the plant will create 600 highly skilled jobs, and 3,000 more will be created for its construction. Drugmakers look to ramp up US manufacturing. The company also said it was expanding plans for the site to include production of blockbuster cancer medicines along with future weight-loss and metabolic drugs. It said it would spend $500 million more than initially planned. Trump has, using the threat of imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, extracted a range of concessions from the industry.
13. PepsiCo beats earnings estimates on steady demand for sodas and snacks, names new CFO
PepsiCo topped Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, helped by steady demand for its snacks and sodas in key international markets and strength in its healthier drinks category in the United States. The company also named Steve Schmitt, who is currently U.S. finance head at its biggest customer Walmart, as its new CFO, effective November. He succeeds Jamie Caulfield, who was in the CFO role for about two years and will retire after more than three decades with PepsiCo. The company is under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management for lagging behind main rival Coca-Cola, while also facing consumer pushback on price hikes over the years and scrutiny on synthetic flavours from the Trump administration.
14. GM relaunches affordable Bolt EV
General Motors said on Thursday it was bringing its affordable Bolt electric vehicle back, as the Detroit automaker looks to widen its offerings in the space. The Bolt’s launch comes at a time when tariff-induced higher prices and fewer EV-related federal subsidies are pressuring consumers. GM said the Bolt would launch at a starting price of just under $30,000, with a cheaper variant scheduled to be rolled out later in the year. The EV would be offered with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard and is expected to have a range of 255 miles, the company said.
15. Intel outlines details of first PC chip made on its new manufacturing tech
Intel on Thursday unveiled key details of its upcoming Panther Lake laptop processor, the first chip built on its next-generation 18A production process, aiming to convince investors its costly turnaround plan can restore its manufacturing edge. The rollout of Panther Lake, aimed at high-end, artificial intelligence-enabled laptops, is a major test of Intel’s ability to scale its 18A manufacturing technology and reclaim PC market share lost to rival AMD. Intel said graphics and central processors integrated in Panther Lake deliver 50% faster performance than its previous generation of chips, Lunar Lake, which was largely made by rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The 18A process includes a new transistor design and a method of delivering energy to the chip more efficiently. The processor will begin ramping up production this year, with the first unit slated to ship before 2025 end. It will be broadly available from January 2026.
16. TSMC posts forecast-beating Q3 revenue surge on AI boom
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday third-quarter revenue rose 30% year-on-year, beating the market forecast, as demand for the company’s products leapt on surging interest in artificial intelligence applications. Revenue for July-September came in at T$989.92 billion ($32.47 billion), according to calculations, compared with T$759.69 billion in the year ago period. The latest result handily topped an LSEG SmartEstimate of T$973.26 billion drawn from 22 analysts, and was in the mid-point of guidance of $31.8 billion to $33 billion issued by TSMC in July in its last earnings call. TSMC only gives guidance in U.S. dollars.