Market Update

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed roughly 300 points, or 0.65%, on Wednesday, marking the third consecutive session of gains as investors stepped back into equities following last week’s AI-driven selloff. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.5%, led by semiconductor stocks and beaten-down mega-cap …

Markets are turning their attention to the release of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes, which are expected to provide deeper insight into the discussions behind the decision to keep interest rates unchanged at the last policy meeting. Investors are closely watching for clues about how policymakers view inflation, employment …

U.S. stock index futures traded higher on Wednesday, as investors positioned themselves ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting and a new round of quarterly corporate earnings. At 05:15 ET (10:15 GMT), Dow Jones futures climbed 260 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 futures advanced …

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is planning to step down from her role ahead of schedule, potentially before the end of her term in October 2027, in a move that would allow French President Emmanuel Macron to influence the selection of her successor, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. …

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s January 16–17 policy meeting, due for release at 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, are expected to shed further light on why policymakers opted to keep interest rates unchanged last month and what conditions may be required to justify future rate cuts. At its January …

Bitcoin slipped further on Wednesday, extending recent losses as investors remained cautious ahead of key U.S. economic data and comments from the Federal Reserve, dampening appetite for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell nearly 1% to $67,746.6 by 01:19 ET (06:19 GMT), offering little reaction to …

Shares of Nvidia and Meta Platforms moved higher in premarket trading on Wednesday after the companies announced a multiyear strategic partnership aimed at significantly expanding Meta’s artificial intelligence infrastructure using Nvidia’s advanced technologies. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock rose 1.6% in premarket trade, while Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) gained around 1%, …

European equity markets edged higher on Wednesday, supported by a steady stream of encouraging corporate earnings and fresh data showing a sharp slowdown in U.K. inflation, which reinforced expectations of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England. By 03:15 ET (08:15 GMT), Germany’s DAX rose 0.7%, France’s CAC …

U.K. inflation cooled more than expected in January, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of England could move to cut interest rates as early as its next policy meeting in March. Annual consumer price inflation slowed to 3.0% in January, down sharply from 3.4% in December. The December reading had marked …

Oil prices were largely unchanged in Asian trading on Wednesday, stabilizing after sharp losses in the previous session, as signs of progress in U.S.–Iran nuclear negotiations reduced concerns over potential supply disruptions and weighed on geopolitical risk premiums. As of 21:18 ET (01:18 GMT), Brent crude futures for April delivery …