The S&P 500 is set to move closer to its first record high since August in a broad advance in global stocks as bonds climbed and a slide in oil prices helped ease worries over inflation.
Futures for the US benchmark rose 0.3% after the index closed within a whisker of an all-time high. The Nasdaq 100 was poised to push further into record territory. All members of the Magnificent Seven gained ground in early trading. The dollar wavered. Brent crude fell toward $98 a barrel, while Treasuries rebounded after 10-year yields hit a 2002 peak on Monday.
The upbeat sentiment was evident in Europe too, where the Stoxx 600 climbed 0.7% to head for its first three-day winning streak in a month. The region’s bonds rallied from recent multidecade lows, with serial underperformers France and Italy leading. The euro bounced from a 17-month low.
Markets are enjoying a rare bout of broad relief at a time when elevated oil prices and bond yields have kept risk appetite in check. Global stock benchmarks have emerged relatively unscathed, as surging investment in artificial intelligence and strong earnings underpin demand.
“Earnings, not multiple expansion, are driving this year’s gains,” said Stephan Kemper at BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Germany. “With earnings-per-share revisions still being strong, fueled by above-average guidance upgrades in the US, we think there is room for this pattern to continue.”
A flurry of deals showed plenty of appetite for investments in AI and the global buildout of the technology.
OpenAI was said to be in talks · with multiple funds from the United Arab Emirates to help anchor a $30 billion round of financing, while China’s DeepSeek · and Moonshot AI were also raising · billions. Google parent Alphabet Inc. inked a deal to buy nuclear energy · from Constellation Energy Corp.
“The breadth of the equity market performance is narrow and is driven by the tech sector,” said Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies. “Strong earnings, ongoing capex and ample liquidity in the system should support the picks-and-shovels trade.”
French bonds shrugged off the latest signs of political turmoil on day when hundreds of high schools were shut in student-led protests. The premium on French 10-year yields over their German peers narrowed to less than 130, down from a recent peak near 160.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, head of the far-right National Rally, proposed bringing the country’s deficit · below 3% of GDP by 2032. France has increasingly come under fire in bond markets over its political outlook and spiraling debt costs.
“Rates in Europe are being helped by lower oil prices, which remain a key watchpoint given that no conflict resolution has yet been achieved,” said Alessandro Gabellone, fixed-income analyst at Bank Degroof Petercam. “France remains under rising political pressure, but today’s fall in yields following Le Pen’s budget comments could provide some short-term relief.”
What Bloomberg Strategists Say:
“Longer term, French bond investors are unlikely to be won over by the fiscal targets in Marine Le Pen’s shadow budget. Achieving those targets would require substantial fiscal tightening at a time when there is little consensus across party lines on deep spending cuts. With the fiscal outlook still uncertain, French bonds remain vulnerable to renewed selling.”
— Ven Ram, cross-asset strategist. For more, click here.
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Corporate News:
- LS Power · , a privately-held developer and investor in power infrastructure in North America, has raised $6 billion for its flagship fund, its largest to date, amid a surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence.
- Jio Platforms Ltd. · is likely to seek a valuation of about 11 trillion rupees ($114 billion) in its planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, falling short of earlier expectations for what may still be the country’s largest-ever listing.
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. · ’s Lisa Su predicted “very high” chip demand continuing for the next few years, even as the industry faces challenges such as concerns over AI’s safety.
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Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 6:53 a.m. New York time
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
- The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1245
- The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3248
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 158.18 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $86,215.64
- Ether rose 0.1% to $2,715.63
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 5.27%
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 3.46%
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 5.36%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $87.48 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,160.63 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.