Asia-Pacific markets tumbled Thursday as investors on Wall Street continued to rotate out of tech. Artificial intelligence-related stocks dragged indexes after the Financial Times reported that Oracle’s primary investor, Blue Owl Capital, pulled out from funding one of its data center projects. Shares of the AI stock tumbled 5.4%. Other stocks tied to the AI trade also fell, including chipmaker Broadcom, AI darling Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.53%, leading losses in Asia, while the Topix fell 0.45%. Softbank Group Corp was among the top losers in the benchmark Nikkei 225, falling as much as 7.25%. The group pared some losses and was last trading 3% lower.
Stocks declined on Wednesday as investors continued to rotate out of key artificial intelligence names, sparked by a report that Oracle’s primary investor pulled out of one of its data center projects. The S&P 500 fell 1.16% to 6,721.43, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.81% to end the session at 22,693.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 228.29 points, or 0.47%, to settle at 47,885.97. Once-hot AI stock Oracle dropped 5.4% after the Financial Times reported that Blue Owl Capital’s plans to finance the cloud infrastructure company’s $10 billion Michigan data center fell through, with people familiar with the matter pointing to concerns about Oracle’s debt and spending levels. Oracle has since disputed the report and said the project is moving forward.
Gold dipped to around $4,330 per ounce on Thursday but stayed near the record highs reached in October, as expectations of further US rate cuts and ongoing geopolitical risks supported the metal’s appeal. Fed Governor Christopher Waller expressed backing for additional interest rate reductions while stressing that policymakers can move cautiously. The comments follow US labor data showing further signs of cooling, with the unemployment rate rising to its highest level in four years, and November job gains were insufficient to offset October’s slowdown. Market attention now turns to the delayed CPI report due later today. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are mounting, as the US moved to halt all sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments following last week’s tanker seizure and military deployment, while Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his firm stance on territorial demands, even as Washington intensifies efforts to broker a diplomatic resolution.
WTI crude oil futures climbed more than 1% toward $57 per barrel on Thursday, extending their rebound from a nearly five-year low, supported by rising geopolitical tensions. The US has ordered a full shutdown of maritime traffic involving sanctioned oil tankers operating to and from Venezuela, following last week’s escalation in which US forces seized a blacklisted tanker off the country’s coast. Simultaneously, Washington is moving toward tougher sanctions on Russia’s energy sector in an effort to advance peace talks over Ukraine, raising concerns over potential global supply disruptions. flows at a time when markets are bracing for oversupply.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve will be someone who believes in lower interest rates "by a lot." "I’ll soon announce our next chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who believes in lower interest rates, by a lot, and mortgage payments will be coming down even further," Trump said. Trump made the comments during a national address touting his economic and national security accomplishments in the first year of his second term in office. He has previously indicated that he will announce his chosen successor to current Fed Chair Jerome Powell early next year. All of the known finalists - White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and current Fed Governor Chris Waller - advocate for interest rates to be lower than they are now.
The United States on Wednesday approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever U.S. weapons package for the island which is under increasing military pressure from China. The Taiwan arms sale announcement is the second under U.S. President Donald Trump’s current administration, and comes as Beijing ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. The proposed arms sale covers eight items, including HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Altius loitering munition drones and parts for other equipment, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement. "The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defence capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability," it added.
An expanded U.S. federal healthcare subsidy that grew out of the pandemic is all but certain to expire at the year’s end as the House of Representatives advanced a Republican healthcare bill on Wednesday that would not renew the tax credit. The 216-211 vote, likely Congress’ last vote on healthcare policy this year, came hours after Republican leaders faced a rebellion within their ranks in support of a Democratic-backed extension of the Obamacare benefit. Earlier, the House voted 204-203 in a procedural move to stop the last-minute attempt by Democrats, aided by four Republicans, to force quick votes on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidy. Democrats loudly protested, accusing Republican leadership of gavelling an end to the vote prematurely while some members were still trying to vote.
The Bank of England is expected to lower interest rates on Thursday after a sharp slowdown in inflation and a weakening in economic growth, but a string of further cuts in 2026 looks unlikely given Britain’s lingering price pressures. Investors think the BoE will reduce its benchmark rate to 3.75% from 4% for a fourth cut of 2025, welcome news for finance minister Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer who are struggling to meet promises to voters of faster economic growth. A quarter-point cut would take Bank Rate to its lowest level in nearly three years, although that would still be almost double the equivalent rate of the European Central Bank. British inflation remains the highest among the Group of Seven economies - in part because of Reeves’ decision last year to raise taxes on employers - even after it fell sharply to 3.2% in data released on Wednesday.
Activist investor Elliott Management has amassed a stake of more than $1 billion in Lululemon Athletica and is lining up a potential CEO candidate as it pushes to revive the struggling athletic apparel retailer, a source told Reuters on Wednesday. Elliott has been working closely for months with veteran retail executive Jane Nielsen, former chief financial officer and chief operations officer at Ralph Lauren, and views her as a potential CEO candidate, the source added. The hedge fund is now one of Lululemon’s biggest investors, with the move coming amid a busy year for Elliott that already includes a recent investment in PepsiCo and an earlier proxy fight at Phillips66. The Wall Street Journal first reported the stake. Elliott and Lululemon did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Apple on Wednesday said it has opened iPhones to alternative app stores in Japan to comply with new laws aimed at stoking competition in that country’s smartphone market. Under Apple’s new rules, Japanese developers can launch their own app marketplaces on iPhones and pay Apple as little as 5% of sales made through those marketplaces and apps. Developers will also be able to offer their own in-app payments for apps distributed through Apple’s App Store, though Apple said the option will be offered alongside its own in-app payment system and that developers will still pay commissions. Japan is the latest jurisdiction to pry apart Apple’s App Store business model, where developers long paid commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases of digital goods and services. While Apple is still litigating over what it can charge developers in the United States, in Europe the U.S. technology company has been required to open the iPhone to alternative marketplaces.
Micron Technology forecast second-quarter adjusted profit at nearly double what Wall Street analysts expected on Wednesday, as prices soar for memory chips amid tight supplies and booming demand from artificial intelligence data centers. Shares of the Boise, Idaho-based company were up 7% in extended trading after the forecast. Micron said it expected adjusted profit of $8.42 per share, plus or minus 20 cents, versus analyst estimates of $4.78 per share, according to LSEG data. Micron’s chips are fundamental components in everything from data center servers and personal computers to smartphones and vehicles. But it is also one of only three major suppliers, along with South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, of what are known as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, essential for training and deploying generative AI models.
Coinbase said on Wednesday it will start letting users trade stocks and event contracts tied to real-world outcomes, as the exchange expands beyond its crypto roots to compete more directly with rivals. Investment platforms have been diversifying into different asset classes to encourage customers to trade under one roof, as firms vie for a larger share of retail trading volume. Coinbase’s expansion could help reduce the company’s reliance on crypto trading, which has become increasingly competitive due to several new entrants, and push it deeper on to the turf of brokerages such as Robinhood and Interactive Brokers. It, however, comes at a time of heightened regulatory uncertainty for event contracts.