South Korea's $17.3 Billion Emergency Budget Targets Oil Price Surge 
Iran Strikes Oil Tanker Near Dubai Amid U.S. Threats and Ongoing Middle East Conflict 
Goldman Sachs Sees Value in European Real Estate Stocks Despite Sharp Selloff 
Oil Prices Dip as Trump Eyes Iran De-escalation, Hormuz Closure Persists 
Bank of Korea Nominee Shin Hyun-song Calls for Flexible Monetary Policy Amid Iran War Risks 
China Manufacturing PMI Hits 12-Month High Amid Energy Price Concerns 
U.S. Treasury Eyes Private Credit Oversight Through Insurance Regulator Talks 
Aluminum Prices Surge Toward Four-Year Highs After Gulf Smelter Strikes 
Asian Currencies Hold Steady Amid U.S.-Israel-Iran Tensions and BOJ Signals 
U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Iran War Escalates, Oil Surges Past $115 
U.S. Trade Rep Dismisses WTO's Future Role After Failed Cameroon Summit 
Gold Prices Inch Higher Amid U.S.-Iran War Tensions and Technical Rebound 
U.S. Stock Futures Surge After WSJ Report on Trump's Iran War Exit Strategy 
RBC Capital: European Medtech Firms Show Minimal Middle East and Energy Risk Exposure 
WTO Ministerial Collapse Leaves Global Digital Trade Rules in Limbo 
Dollar Surges to Monthly High as Middle East Conflict Rattles Global Markets 
Dollar Surges to Nine-Month High as Middle East Tensions Drive Safe-Haven Demand 
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.
