Ireland Limits Planned Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements to Goods Only 
Oil Prices Slip in Asia as 2026 Supply Glut Fears and Russia-Ukraine Talks Weigh on Markets 
Asian Currencies Trade Sideways as Dollar Weakens Ahead of Key U.S. Data 
Wall Street Futures Slip as Tech Stocks Struggle Ahead of Key US Economic Data 
Asian Stocks Slide as AI Valuation Fears and BOJ Uncertainty Weigh on Markets 
New Zealand Budget Outlook Shows Prolonged Deficits Despite Economic Recovery Hopes 
Bank of Japan Poised for Historic Rate Hike as Inflation Pressures Persist 
U.S. Dollar Slips Near Two-Month Low as Markets Await Key Jobs Data and Central Bank Decisions 
China’s Small Bank Consolidation Struggles as Profits Fall and Risks Persist 
Korea Zinc to Build $7.4 Billion Critical Minerals Refinery in Tennessee With U.S. Government Backing 
Oil Prices Rebound as U.S.-Venezuela Tensions Offset Oversupply Concerns 
Australian Consumer Sentiment Slumps in Early December as Inflation Fears Resurface 
Japan Business Sentiment Hits Four-Year High, Boosting Expectations of BOJ Rate Hike 
ASX Shares Slide After ASIC Imposes A$150 Million Capital Requirement 
Fed Near Neutral Signals Caution Ahead, Shifting Focus to Fixed Income in 2026 
U.S. stock futures rose sharply Wednesday night, driven by strong earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms. This positive momentum came after a choppy regular session where Wall Street posted modest gains despite weak economic data.
As of 8:13 p.m. ET, S&P 500 Futures were up 0.9% at 5,636.75, Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 1.4% to 19,931.50, and Dow Jones Futures added 0.4% to reach 40,932.00.
Meta (NASDAQ:META) jumped 5.7% in after-hours trading following upbeat Q1 earnings and an increase in full-year capital expenditure guidance to $64–72 billion. The Facebook and Instagram parent plans to expand AI-focused data centers to support future growth.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also surged 7% post-market after reporting a 13% rise in quarterly revenue and projecting robust cloud growth of 34–35% in the fiscal Q4, reinforcing investor confidence in its AI-driven cloud strategy.
However, earlier in the day, U.S. GDP data surprised markets, showing a 0.3% annualized contraction in Q1, versus a 2.4% expansion in Q4. Analysts had expected modest growth of 0.2%. The downturn was partly due to a 41.3% spike in imports—the largest in five years—as buyers rushed to make purchases ahead of potential Trump-era tariffs.
Despite the economic miss, Wall Street indexes ended Wednesday with small gains. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1%.
Investors now await earnings from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), due Thursday. Meanwhile, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell nearly 6% after weak global sales, and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) posted a profit decline. AI server firm Super Micro (NASDAQ:SMCI) dropped 11.5% after lowering its Q3 outlook.
