OPENING CALL

U.S. tech and AI-related stocks fell premarket as investors responded to Oracle's consensus misses for both earnings and AI spending .

Oracle shares fell as much as 11% after hours on Wednesday, and its results resparked concerns about the AI trade, and looked like outweighing the boost markets received from the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut.

Aptus Capital Advisors called the Fed decision a risk management cut, given a slowing job market and limited inflation fears.

The cut, and the lagged impact from past cuts, "will make a difference for a large chunk of corporate America given the size and scope of small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. economy and their utilization of shorter-dated funding."

Chip designer Broadcom-a rival to AI bellwether Nvidia-and Costco will report after the bell.

Investors now await next week's delayed data, with NFP jobs and CPI inflation figures in focus, particularly after Powell said the country could be losing 20,000 jobs a month-a concern that was part of the decision.

Stocks to Watch

Gemini Space Station secured a license to operate prediction markets. Stock rose 16% after the bell.

Oxford Industries cut its full-year guidance as customers are pulling back on spending. Stock slid 24% after hours.

Synopsys reported better-than-expected adjusted per-share earnings and expects the financial year that started in November to be strong. Shares rose 2% premarket.

Watch For:

Weekly Jobless Claims; Trade for September; Canada Trade for September

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

-Fed's Fractured Vote Signals Trouble Ahead for Future Rate Cuts

-China's AI Power Play: Cheap Electricity From World's Biggest Grid

-Oracle Can't Escape OpenAI's Shadow

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar remained under pressure after hitting a seven-week low after the Fed's rate-cut decision.

Commerzbank said Powell's statement seemed to suggest the risks of higher inflation were less dramatic than those of a weaker labor market.

"This could pave the way for further interest-rate cuts in the coming year, following a pause in January."

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management said the dollar could face downside risks again next year.

"The dollar is at risk if the market frets again of U.S. rates or if we see burst of AI bubble."

The euro was near a two-month high against the dollar, and ING said it could rise to $1.1800 by year-end, adding that this would require weak U.S. jobs data next week or positive ECB growth forecast revisions.

Bonds:

BNP Paribas took profit on a short 10-year Treasury trade after the rate cut.

"We see the Federal Reserve's imbalanced reaction function weighing on the rates markets ahead of the next payrolls data."

Danske Bank is still forecasting two final Fed rate cuts in March and June next year, adding that Powell's avoidance of strong forward guidance led to a decline in Treasury yields during his press conference.

Madison Investments expects a slower pace of additional Fed easing from here, anticipating that the Fed will be on hold until the second quarter of 2026.

Energy:

Oil prices fell as investors monitored progress to end the war in Ukraine and rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.

After settling higher in the previous session when the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

The incident adds to geopolitical risks, even as fundamentals remain bearish, with global supply from OPEC+ and the Americas expected to outpace demand growth.

Meanwhile, Trump dialed up pressure on Ukraine to quickly accept a U.S.-drafted peace plan--a development that could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russia and bring additional barrels back onto the market.

Metals:

Gold rose and silver futures climbed 2.2% to $62.39 an ounce after hitting a record high of $63.25 earlier.

"Both gold and silver are heading for their strongest annual performance since 1979, with gold up more than 60% and silver more than doubling, driven by heavy central-bank demand, rising ETF inflows, and investor shifts away from sovereign bonds and currencies," MUFG said.

Traders now await next week's delayed U.S. data, with NFP jobs and CPI inflation figures in focus.

Copper

Copper rose after the rate decision and traders remain concerned over signs of tightness in the physical market.

Meanwhile, the market was shrugging off China's weaker economic data and focusing instead on copper's long-term demand from renewables, EVs and data centers, ANZ said.

These rosy demand prospects clash with growing supply concerns amid a series of mine disruptions worldwide, keeping prices elevated. 


   TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Schneider Electric Expands Revenue Target, Plans Buyback Program

Schneider Electric extended its revenue guidance for the medium term and said it plans to buy back up to $4.09 billion in shares through 2030.

The French group-which is hosting its capital markets day-said Thursday that it expects organic revenue growth between 7% and 10% for the period ranging from 2026 to 2030. That extends the estimate from this year.

Broadcom Reports Earnings After the Close Today. Wall Street Expect Strong Results.

Broadcom will report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the market close today. Investors await the company's commentary for the artificial-intelligence chips market.

The Wall Street consensus expectations for Broadcom are for the company to report October quarter revenue of $17.5 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.87. For the current quarter, the consensus calls among analysts are for revenue of $18.4 billion and earnings per share of $1.97

ECB Unlikely to Follow Fed For Now, But Currency Moves May Yet Prove Decisive

Europe's leading central bank will not necessarily follow the Federal Reserve in lowering its key interest rate, but policymakers may face growing pressure to do so if the pace of easing significantly weakens the U.S. dollar.

The Fed Wednesday lowered its key rate for the third time since the European Central bank last cut in June. Its key rate now sits in a range between 3.5% and 3.75%, having been 4.25% to 4.5% when the ECB lowered its equivalent to 2%. However, Chair Jerome Powell gave little indication that further cuts were imminent.

IEA Forecasts Smaller Oil Surplus as OPEC+ Output Declines

The oil market's projected surplus has narrowed due to lower OPEC+ production, but a large supply overhang continues to cloud the outlook, the International Energy Agency said in its closely watched monthly report.

The Paris-based organization, which represents major oil-consuming nations, lowered its forecast for global oil supply growth to 3 million barrels a day this year and 2.4 million the next, from earlier projections of 3.1 million and 2.5 million barrels a day.

Swiss National Bank Holds Key Interest Rate at 0%

Switzerland's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged for a second straight meeting, but signaled it is open to a further cut that would take borrowing costs below zero if a sustained period of falling prices threatens.

The Swiss National Bank held its policy rate as expected at 0% on Thursday, having stood pat at its last meeting in September after six consecutive quarterly cuts. However, it said further cuts remain an option.

U.S. Flies Bombers in High-Profile Show of Support for Japan

TOKYO-Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew in formation with Japanese fighters over the Sea of Japan, a conspicuous display of U.S. support for Tokyo as it battles Chinese anger over remarks Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The exercise came a day after Russian and Chinese warplanes conducted their own joint patrol in the seas around Japan's southern islands, which Tokyo said were intended as a show of force directed at a U.S. security ally in Asia.

Crumbling Peace Deals Show Limits of Trump's Approach to Ending Wars

A new round of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia and resurgent fighting in eastern Congo, two conflicts President Trump claimed to have resolved, have shown the constraints of his high-speed pursuit of peace.

Since the start of his second term, Trump has leveraged the economic and military might of the U.S. to get warring parties in several deep-rooted international conflicts to the negotiating table and extract hasty peace deals.

Trump Administration Scraps Plan to Mint Quarters Featuring Abolition, Suffrage

The Trump administration jettisoned a plan to honor the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage and the civil-rights movement on quarters for the nation's 250th birthday.

Those themes were part of a proposed five-quarter special series that went through years of debate and design but was never officially announced by the U.S. Mint. They were replaced with images inspired by the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address. Instead of Frederick Douglass, a women's suffrage marcher and Ruby Bridges desegregating an elementary school, the Mint's special quarters for 2026 will feature Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and James Madison, along with pilgrims glimpsing America's shores.

U.S. Blueprint to Rewire Economies of Russia, Ukraine Sets Off Clash With Europe

The Trump administration in recent weeks has handed its European counterparts a series of documents, each a single page, laying out its vision for the reconstruction of Ukraine and the return of Russia to the global economy.

The proposals have sparked an intense battle at the negotiating table between America and its traditional allies in Europe. The outcome stands to profoundly alter the economic map of the continent.

Write to clare.kinloch@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

Dollarama

Empire Co Ltd Class A

Economic Indicators (ET):

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

12-11-25 0614ET