GLOBAL stocks inched higher in choppy trading yesterday as European gains offset a mixed session on Wall Street, as investors weighed a snag in AI momentum and a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that pushed oil prices lower.
The benchmark S&P 500 was higher after reversing losses in early trade and the Dow hit a record high while the Nasdaq lost ground, with technology shares driving losses and healthcare stocks leading gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.79 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 0.32pc, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.20pc.
Shares in Broadcom tumbled more than 14pc, pulling semiconductor stocks broadly lower, after the chipmaker’s results disappointed investors who had bet on surging demand for its custom AI chips.
Europe’s bourses rose 0.52pc. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.06pc.
“We saw a little pocket of weakness in the chip stocks with the disappointing news from Broadcom last night,” said James St Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management.
“Today’s action in tech specifically is emblematic of how fragile sentiment can be for a group of stocks that experience massive gains in a short period of time.”
US President Donald Trump’s efforts to halt fighting in Lebanon were undermined after the pro-Iran Hezbollah movement rejected the new ceasefire and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country.
The Republican-led US House of Representatives also approved a war powers resolution on Wednesday to block Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran.
The measure is largely symbolic, however, as it must still pass the Senate and would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override an almost certain presidential veto.
“Those headlines are probably net positive on the geopolitical front and the market is embracing that for now. We’ve seen a lot of volatility around geopolitical headlines in both directions and I would say at the margins, it’s positive with the ceasefire agreement,” St Aubin said.
Brent crude prices dropped 3pc to around $95 a barrel.
In currency markets, investors were watching out for possible official intervention as the Japanese yen hovered near the key 160 level.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara had said in Tokyo he expects the central bank to coordinate its moves with the government after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda had given fresh hints that an interest rate hike is on the cards this month.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.06pc against the greenback to 159.94 per dollar.
The euro was up 0.27pc at $1.1626. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar weakened 0.42pc to 0.789.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.12pc to 99.33.
US Treasury yields were lower across the board. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 3 basis points to 4.461pc.
Spot gold rose 1.11pc to $4,479.14 an ounce. Bitcoin fell 1.88pc to $63,686.05.
Meanwhile, Gulf stock markets ended mixed yesterday.
Markets stayed cautious as attention returned to developments involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz after a period of easing tensions and perceived progress in negotiations, said Ahmad Assiri, research strategist at Pepperstone.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index eased 0.1pc, hit by a 0.5pc fall in Saudi National Bank, the country’s biggest lender by assets, and a 0.4pc decrease in oil major Saudi Aramco.
Brent futures were down $3.05, or 3.1pc, at $94.76 a barrel at 1224 GMT. Shares of Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company retreated 5pc. The stock recently jumped as investor enthusiasm grew over its stake in Elon Musk’s soon-to-be-listed SpaceX .
Dubai’s main share index gained 0.6pc, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.
In Abu Dhabi, the index finished flat.
The Qatari index fell 0.6pc, with the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank losing 1.1pc.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index was up 0.2pc.
The Bahrain All Share Index closed at 1,982.15 points yesterday, marking a decrease of 1.27 points below the previous closing.
This decrease was due to a drop in the consumer discretionary sector, the financials sector and the materials sector.
Bahrain lslamic Index has closed at 963.76 points, marking a decrease of 4.41 points below the previous closing.
Results indicated that 69 equity transactions took place with a volume of 3,299,005 worth BD625,269.
Investors traded mainly in the financials sector, representing 76.68pc of the total value of securities traded.
&uuid=(email))