News from the Dow Jones Newswires indicated a slight increase in the global markets after an unstable Wednesday trading session. Reports hinted at President Trump’s intent to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which led to a drastic market response. Despite the volatility, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended up increasing by 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.
On Thursday, both the global stock market and the dollar showed modest growth, and U.S. Treasury yields experienced a slight increase. Furthermore, U.S. stock futures showed minimal fluctuation, while Nasdaq futures showed a minor rise of 0.2%.
In Europe, early trade saw Stoxx Europe 600 surge by 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 by 1.1%, and Germany’s DAX by 0.9%. European industrial companies enjoyed a boost as ABB reported a record second-quarter order intake and Legrand elevated its guidance. ABB and Siemens saw their shares rise by over 8% and nearly 4% respectively. The U.K. FTSE 100 also increased by 0.3%, although EasyJet shares dropped by over 7% due to higher fuel prices and strikes by France’s air traffic controllers impacting its pretax profit outlook.
Asian markets closed higher, largely driven by technology-related stocks. Japan’s Nikkei rose by 0.6%, despite shares of Seven & I Holdings plummeting by 9.2% after Alimentation Couche-Tard pulled its $47 billion bid to acquire the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven. South Korea’s Kospi also saw an increase, boosted by a 3.1% rise in Samsung Electronics following the clearance of its chairman of criminal charges by the country’s top court.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported record profits in Q2, largely fueled by robust chip demand for artificial-intelligence applications. This news assisted in driving broader gains in the sector. In Europe, ASML rose by 2.5%, while smaller peers ASM International and BE Semiconductor Industries surged by 3.3% and 3.5%, respectively. STMicroelectronics also grew by 3.4%.
After a significant dip on Wednesday due to concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. dollar recovered. The DXY dollar index rose by 0.2% against a basket of major currencies, reaching 98.591 after dropping to 97.714 on Wednesday. According to Tradeweb, the two-year U.S Treasury yield increased by 2.6 basis points to 3.910%, while the 10-year yield grew by 2 basis points to 4.474%.
Oil prices traded within a narrow range as investors evaluated U.S. demand signals and monitored global trade developments. Brent crude fell slightly by 0.2% to $68.39 a barrel, while WTI remained flat at $66.35 a barrel. Due to a stronger U.S. dollar, gold prices also experienced a minor decrease.
