US equities experience significant gains mid-session. S&P 500 trades 0.32% higher, Nasdaq adds 0.6% and DJIA moves up by 0.45%. Small-cap Russell 2000 remains the only loser on Wall Street, sliding 0.33% down.
Indices in Europe have closed today’s session mostly in deep green. German DAX gains 0.77%, French CAC40 surges 1.22%, British FTSE 100 adds 0.67%, Italian FTSE MIB trades 1.09% higher. Loses are visible on Spanish IBX35 (-0.77%) and Polish WIG20 (-2.44%)
The European Central Bank has lowered its three interest rates by 25 bp. Christine Lagarde has underlined that ECB is not committing to a predefined rate cut path, though the economic activity appears to be weaker than previously expected. Nevertheless, the Eurozone is nowhere near the recession and deeper-than-standard rate cuts are not under consideration.
Eurozone inflation has remained stable, with core CPI coming in line with expectations (2.7% YoY, 0.1% MoM). ECB sees inflation coming back to the 2% target in the first half of 2025.
EU’s balance of trade, however, has dropped lower than expected from €19.7 bn in July to €4.6 bn (17.8 bn expected)
Netflix prepares to report its fiscal third quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closes. Estimated earnings per share: $5.16 (Netflix guidance: $5.10).
Natural gas inventories rose by 76 billion cubic feet last week, slightly below the expected 80 billion and higher than the previous 82 billion cubic feet.
United States Industrial and Manufacturing Production were both below estimates.
Initial Jobless Claims also come lower than expected: Actual: 241K. Forecast 260K; Previous 258K.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM.US) ADRs are currently gaining 12% after the company reported record third-quarter net profit, driven by strong demand for smartphones and artificial intelligence chips.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced that Hamas Leader Sinwar is dead. Oil continues its losing streak. Brent is losing 1% to $73.94 and WTI is 1.82% lower, currently trading at $69.57.
AUD is the strongest currency today, appreciating against USD by 0.45%. Euro and Japanese Yen weakened significantly against USD (EURUSD: -0.37%), Canadian dollar is also depreciating (USDCAD: +0.3%).
The cryptocurrency market is declining today. Ethereum is down 0.8%, Dogecoin loses 3.88%, and Bitcoin falls 0.77%, to around 67,100 USD.
Precious metals are mostly gaining today: gold sets new ATH at 2692 and gains 0.8%, silver is down by 0.36%, while platinum is 0.31% lower.