MARKET WRAPS
European shares fell after opening higher on Friday, with all eyes turning to a data-center problem which halted trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Futures trading in U.S. bonds and equities, as well as commodities and other asset classes were impacted by the disruption.
"Trading could be more volatile than usual today , as U.S. markets open for a half day and liquidity is likely to be thin," XTB said. "Added to this, a disruption on the CME trading exchange, could also affect trading across FX, stocks, commodities and some bonds."
There could be a sharp rush to unwind or roll positions once trading resumes, Phillip Nova's Priyanka Sachdeva said.
"The timing is particularly unnerving for traders -we're at month-end, and a few contracts are facing their final trading day today, " she added.
Investors were also paying close attention to the upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision and monitoring the development of the next Fed chairman selection. Market sentiment has been buoyed after Kevin Hassett, a close Trump ally, has reportedly become the frontrunner.
According to the FedWatch tool, traders are now pricing in a nearly 85% chance of a December cut after dovish comments from policymakers earlier this week.
Markets Insight
Next year is expected to be a good investment year for many equities and corporate bonds amid modest economic expansion, stronger earnings growth and nonrestrictive monetary policy, DWS said.
While AI could continue to be a market driver , high valuations of many AI leaders carry disappointment risk, it added.
Economic Insight
French inflation held steady in November as a pickup in growth was confirmed for the third quarter, keeping the European Central Bank on course to keep rates unchanged.
Data published Friday also confirmed that the French economy accelerated in the third quarter.
Shares on the Move
Most European beverage stocks were trading at lower valuations than their averages over the past five, ten and 15 years after another challenging year of share-price performances, but this seems justified, Deutsche Bank said.
" The sector is cheap for a reason . Earnings growth has been weak for an extended period and structural concerns are building. Disappointing delivery in 2025 only added to these concerns," it said.
U.S. Markets:
Moves were limited on Friday as trading of futures and options on the CME due to a glitch.
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq exchange are due to close at 1 p.m. ET, following Thursday's Thanksgiving Day closure.
Forex:
The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies as trade remains thin due to Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
It remained weak, staying at the lower end of its recent range and close to a nine-day low hit on Thursday due to growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
Bonds:
Bunds remained trapped in a tiny range just below 2.7% in the 10-year maturity and were unlikely to break out of their tight trading range during Black Friday, Commerzbank Research said.
Bund-swap spreads were expected to resume cheapening next year after a directionless 2025, HSBC said.
"If the Finanzagentur [German Finance Agency] were to meaningfully reduce its weighted average maturity of issuance to reduce the term premium, that could mean a smaller increase in 10-year Bund supply," it added.
Bund yields should remain stable over the next 12 months, with potential curve steepening at ultra-long maturities due to financing needs and pension reform in the Netherlands, DWS said.
Franklin Templeton continued to expect medium- and long-dated Treasury yields to rise over the medium term.
"The slope of the curve has been influenced by how the U.S. federal government has financed increased fiscal spending," it said.
DWS said the 10-year Treasury yields are likely to be between 3.75% and 4.25% next year.
Top-rated government bonds such as Treasurys or Bunds retain many safe-haven characteristics but their functioning during risk-off episodes has periodically deteriorated , said Neuberger.
"These instruments do still play a role in portfolio diversification, in particular for hedging growth shocks, but are less reliable against inflation spikes or political tail risks," it added.
Energy:
Brent crude rose as traders awaited OPEC+'s meeting on Sunday and developments on peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, while WTI futures were frozen due to a system outage at exchange operator CME.
Gas
European natural-gas prices rose, but were still on track for a weekly loss of more than 2% as investors closely monitored geopolitical developments in Eastern Europe and storage withdrawals.
"Hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and a broader risk-on move in markets are keeping crude oil prices fairly rangebound," ING said.
Metals:
An outage at exchange operator CME halted gold futures trading.
Gold was edging higher in early trading on expectations of a December rate cut by the Fed. Dovish comments from policymakers earlier this week have lifted expectations of Fed rate cuts, ANZ said.
Copper
Copper was higher amid expectations of tight supply.
The global copper market is projected to shift into a supply deficit of 150,000 tons in 2026, Nanhua Futures said, citing the latest data from International Copper Study Group.
Iron
Iron ore prices fell in early trade.
Concerns about China's property sector are likely weighing on prices , as the sector has been a key source of demand for iron ore despite strong growth in other industries over the years, ANZ said.
EMEA HEADLINES
French Inflation Unchanged, Likely Keeping ECB on Hold
French inflation held steady in November as a pickup in growth was confirmed for the third quarter, keeping the European Central Bank on course to keep rates unchanged.
Consumer prices were 0.8% higher than in the same month a year prior, in line with October, EU-harmonized figures published by statistics agency Insee showed Friday. A consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected an increase of 0.9%.
Nexperia Urges China Unit to Restore Supply Chain
Nexperia has urged its China unit to facilitate production and restore the flow of chips, warning that customers are facing imminent stoppages.
The Dutch chip maker said in an open letter on Thursday that it hasn't received any meaningful response from its Chinese unit despite multiple attempts to re-establish dialogue. It urged the Chinese entities to respond and take immediate steps to restore predictable and established supply flows without delay.
U.K. Home Sales Fall on Budget Uncertainty, Report Says
U.K. home sales fell over the four weeks ended Nov. 23 as buyers stayed away over fears of higher property taxes in the budget, according to a report by real-estate agency Zoopla.
The agency said Friday that home sales fell 4% across the U.K., with buyer demand down 12% year-on-year.
Deutsche Boerse in Talks to Buy Fund-Tech Platform Allfunds in $6 Billion Deal
Deutsche Boerse said it is in talks with European fund-technology company Allfunds on a possible acquisition valued at around $6 billion.
The German stock-exchange operator said Thursday that it had made a nonbinding proposal to acquire Allfunds for 8.80 euros a share. That would imply an equity value of 5.29 billion euros ($6.13 billion) for the company, based on data taken from FactSet.
GLOBAL NEWS
CME Data-Center Issue Hits Options, Futures Trading
Trading of futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was halted for hours on Friday, disrupting some of the world's most liquid futures markets for commodities like oil, U.S. stocks and Treasuries and other financial instruments.
The exchange cited a cooling issue at a data center vendor and said it was working to resolve the problem.
Inside the Shapeshifting AI Trade That Has the Stock Market Heading Higher Again
We're going to need a few more nails.
Just one week ago, the death of the artificial-intelligence trade was the talk of the markets. The debate really began in October, when Meta Platforms released better-than-expected earnings but also increased the amount of money it would spend on data centers and other AI projects, causing the stock to slump.
National Guard Soldier Dies a Day After D.C. Shooting
U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, one of the National Guard members targeted by a gunman in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, has died, according to President Trump.
"She's just passed away," Trump said during a Thanksgiving call for servicemembers. "She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now. She was savagely attacked, she's dead," Trump said, adding the other victim is fighting for his life.
Europe Fears It Can't Catch Up in Great Power Competition
BRUSSELS-In the accelerating contest between great powers, Europe is struggling to keep up.
The continent's leaders have long worried they will be left behind as the U.S., China and Russia vie for economic, technological and military dominance.
Trump Is Silent on Taiwan After Talking to Xi-and That Is Fine With Taipei
TAIPEI-For years, most U.S. presidents have declined to answer the question of whether America would defend Taiwan's democracy against a military takeover by Communist China. This "strategic ambiguity"-backed by aid for Taiwan's self-defense and a robust military presence in the Pacific-has been key to deterring Beijing.
But with China's military growing stronger and leader Xi Jinping on a mission to tell the world that Taiwan belongs to Beijing-a message he delivered to President Trump in a phone call Monday-the question has resurfaced: Is saying little saying enough?
Putin Says U.S. Plan for Ending Ukraine War a Starting Point, Needs Work
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
11-28-25 0533ET
