Asian Currencies Hold Firm as Dollar Rebounds on Fed Chair Nomination Hopes 
U.S.–Venezuela Relations Show Signs of Thaw as Top Envoy Visits Caracas 
Oil Prices Slide Nearly 3% as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Geopolitical Tensions 
U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster 
EU Recovery Fund Faces Bottlenecks Despite Driving Digital and Green Projects 
BOJ Policymakers Warn Weak Yen Could Fuel Inflation Risks and Delay Rate Action 
India Budget 2025 Highlights Manufacturing Push but Falls Short of Market Expectations 
Wall Street Slides as Warsh Fed Nomination, Hot Inflation, and Precious Metals Rout Shake Markets 
IMF Forecasts Global Inflation Decline as Growth Remains Resilient 
Gold and Silver Prices Plunge as Trump Taps Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair 
Asian Markets Slide as Silver Volatility, Earnings Season, and Central Bank Meetings Rattle Investors 
Russia Stocks End Flat as MOEX Closes Unchanged Amid Mixed Global Signals 
Canada’s Trade Deficit Jumps in November as Exports Slide and Firms Diversify Away From U.S. 
China Factory Activity Slips in January as Weak Demand Weighs on Growth Outlook 
Starmer’s China Visit Highlights Western Balancing Act Amid U.S.-China Rivalry 
U.S. stock index futures held steady Wednesday evening after the S&P 500 hit a record high, driven by Netflix’s strong earnings and optimism over President Donald Trump’s AI investment initiative. S&P 500 Futures were flat at 6,118.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped 0.1% to 21,970.50. Dow Jones Futures remained steady at 44,354.0 points.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares soared 10% after reporting 19 million new subscriber additions in Q4 2024, smashing expectations. Revenue rose 8% to $9.5 billion, while net income increased 12% to $915 million. The streaming giant announced U.S. and international price hikes, citing higher programming investments.
AI stocks surged as Trump unveiled a $500 billion AI initiative, Stargate, a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), and SoftBank (TYO:9984). The project aims to build AI data centers and power facilities in Texas, boosting the sector’s growth. Oracle shares rose 7%, Microsoft gained 4.1%, and Nvidia climbed 4.4%.
Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) surged 16%, while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 2%, pushing the S&P 500 to a record high of 6,100.81 points before closing 0.6% higher at 6,086.28. The NASDAQ Composite rose 1.
