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European Stocks Surge, Oil Prices Drop; Defense, Luxury Shares Rally

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European stock markets closed higher Thursday, paced by defense and luxury goods, while oil prices fell.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.6%, Germany's DAX 40 jumped 2.2%, the FTSE 100 advanced 1.9%, France's CAC 40 increased 1.8%, and the Swiss Market Index gained 1.9%.

In corporate news, Novartis received European Commission approval for its gene replacement treatment Itvisma to treat spinal muscular atrophy in patients aged 2 and older.

Shares of the Swiss pharmaceutical company gained 2.5% in Zurich.

Novo Nordisk is seeking lower prices from suppliers to lower its own expenses to remain competitive with rivals in the weight-loss drug market, news outlets reported.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company rose 2.5% in Copenhagen.

AstraZeneca agreed to enter into a strategic collaboration with Abbisko Therapeutics to jointly advance the clinical development of a therapeutic candidate for non-small cell lung cancer.

AstraZeneca has entered into a collaboration, option and license agreement with CSPC Pharmaceutical to develop small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies targeting kidney diseases.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical company surged 5.3% in London.

TotalEnergies agreed to sell its 85% interest in Block 2E offshore Malaysia to INPEX for $350 million.

Shares of the French oil and gas major increased 1.4% in Paris.

UBS Group plans to begin testing everyday banking services for its US employees as early as December, laying the groundwork for a full-service bank targeting wealthy American clients by mid-2027, the Financial Times reported.

Shares of the Swiss bank advanced 2.3% in Zurich.

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Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Fall as Technology Slides, Warsh's Inflation Focus Lifts Treasury Yields

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell as technology chipped away at gains in communication services, government bond yields rose after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated his focus on inflation, and crude oil declined.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 26,040.03 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 shed 0.2% to 7,483.23, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 52,305.24.Meta Platforms (META) is building a cloud infrastructure business to sell access to AI computing power and models, setting up a new area of competition with Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Cloud, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Meta surged 8.8%, one of the S&P 500's and the Nasdaq's top gainers.Of the bottom 10 stocks with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion each, nine were technology firms, according to data compiled by Finviz. Within these, the majority were either semiconductors or semiconductor equipment and materials. The steepest decline in the group was KLA (KLAC), down nearly 12%.Fed Chair Warsh said price risks have fallen in recent weeks, while reiterating his determination to ease inflation to the US central bank's 2% target, Bloomberg reported. "Expectations of inflation over the first four weeks of this period have come down, [and] inflation risks have come down."Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year surging 5.9 basis points to 4.48%. The two-year rate jumped 4.2 basis points to 4.18%.Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said meetings with Qatari and Pakistani officials in Doha, Qatar, ended without direct talks between delegations from Washington and Tehran, according to Al Jazeera, a Middle East news agency. Gharibabadi said a communication channel will be set up for discussing breaches of the memorandum of understanding with the US, Al Jazeera cited Iran's official news agency, IRNA.Meanwhile, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz surged over the past few weeks, with American military support helping boost oil flows to more than 10 million barrels a day, a US official told Bloomberg.The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 2.4% to $71.19 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate retreated 2% to $68.10 per barrel.In economic news, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said firms planned to cut 45,849 jobs in June, down from 97,006 in May and 47,999 a year ago.ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 98,000 increase in June, missing the 120,000 jump indicated in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 53.3 in June from 54.0 in May, compared with forecasts for 53.9 in a Bloomberg-compiled poll, indicating a slower pace of expansion.The S&P Global US manufacturing index for June was revised down to 53.9 from the flash 55.7, versus expectations of no revision in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMZN$GOOG$GOOGL$KLAC$META$MSFT
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Technology Slide Undermines Top Sector Gainers

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed after midday Wednesday, with communication services topping sector charts while technology chipped away, and as crude oil declined.The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2% to 26,153.2, after ending Q2 with gains previously seen six years ago. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 7,505.1, extending gains after closing Q2 with gains that were the highest since Q2 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% to 52,466.5, after touching a fresh record earlier in the session. The Dow capped the strongest first half in five years on Tuesday.In company news, Meta Platforms (META) is building a cloud infrastructure business to sell access to AI computing power and models, setting up a new area of competition with Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Cloud, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Meta surged 9.7%, one of the S&P 500's and the Nasdaq's top gainers.On Wednesday, the US and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official told Reuters.The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 2.3% to $71.31 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate retreated 1.7% to $68.34 per barrel.US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, slumped by 3.8 million barrels in the week ended June 26 after a 6.1-million-barrel drop in the previous week, a steeper dive than the 2.2 million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said price risks have dissipated in recent weeks, while repeating his determination to ease inflation to the US central bank's 2% target, Bloomberg reported."Expectations of inflation over the first four weeks of this period have come down, [and] inflation risks have come down," Warsh said Wednesday at the European Central Bank's annual Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, according to Bloomberg.Gold futures advanced 1.2% to $4,084.6, and silver futures climbed 1.6% to $60.41.Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year jumping 4.7 basis points to 4.47%. The two-year rate climbed 2.1 basis points to 4.16%.In economic news, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said companies planned to cut 45,849 jobs in June, down from 97,006 in May and 47,999 a year ago. The largest layoff counts in June were in the technology and services sectors.ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 98,000 increase in June, below expectations for an increase of 120,000 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 53.3 in June from 54.0 in May, compared with forecasts for 53.9 in a Bloomberg-compiled poll, indicating a slower pace of expansion.The S&P Global US manufacturing index for June was revised down to 53.9 from the flash reading of 55.7, versus expectations for an unrevised reading in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMZN$GOOG$GOOGL$META$MSFT
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Rise, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV rose. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1%.US equity indexes were mixed, with communication services leading the sector charts higher while technology was lower after midday Wednesday.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was each down about 0.3%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) dipped 1.9%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) shed 0.9%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 1.1%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) fell 2.7%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) declined 5.3%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 2.6%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) climbed up 8%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), dropped 7.9%.CommoditiesCrude oil slipped 1.7%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) fell 2.5%. Natural gas lost 1.5%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 1%.Gold on Comex rose 1.3%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) added 1.5%. Silver was up 1.2%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 1.7% higher.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 0.2%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 0.1%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) was up 0.8%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 1.2%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) rose 0.2%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) added 0.6%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 0.4%, iShares US Healthcare (IYH) gained 0.5%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) was up 0.5%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was flat.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) dipped 0.3%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was lower while iShares US Industrials (IYJ) was higher.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) gained 1.9%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was up 3%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 2.5% higher.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH