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US Equity Markets End Higher Amid Gains in Tech, Communication, Industrial Stocks

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US equity indexes closed higher on Thursday in a broad-based rally led by technology, communication services, and industrials despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.

* US President Donald Trump will hear about updated military options for Iran from Pentagon officials on Thursday, as a possible way of forcing Tehran into an agreement, CNN reported.

* Iran's new supreme leader gave a statement Thursday, vowing not to give up the country's nuclear or missile technologies and signaling Tehran would keep control of the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported.

* The US core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose to 3.2% year-on-year in March from 3%, meeting expectations.

* June West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.82 to settle at $105.06 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $3.94 at $114.09.

* Qualcomm's (QCOM) shares were up roughly 14%, the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue late Wednesday.

* Meta Platforms (META) was down nearly 8% after the company overnight raised its forecast for 2026 capital expenditures, despite a Q1 earnings and revenue beat.

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SMMT: UK's Total Vehicle Production Falls 8.2% in March

Britain's total vehicle manufacturing dropped 8.2% year over year to 72,511 units in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Thursday.Car production declined 0.8% to 69,755 units, while commercial vehicle output plunged 68.3% to 2,756 units.In the 12 months to March, total vehicle manufacturing decreased 13% to 208,088 units.

FTSE 100
International

New Zealand Total Lending Rises in March

New Zealand's total lending edged higher in March, driven by a rise in housing and agricultural loans, even as personal consumer and business lending declined, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand released on Thursday.Total housing loans from registered banks and non-bank lending institutions in New Zealand grew to NZ$395.64 billion in March from NZ$393.61 billion in February. Total personal consumer lending fell to NZ$14.54 billion in March from NZ$14.66 billion in the previous month.Total business lending decreased to NZ$142.66 billion in the period, from NZ$142.76 billion. Meanwhile, agricultural lending climbed to NZ$63.63 billion in March, from NZ$63.39 billion in the previous month.

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China's Manufacturing Sector Grows at Slower Pace in April

China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index was down 0.1 of a percentage point month on month to 50.3% in April, according to a Thursday news release from the National Bureau of Statistics.The PMI for large enterprises was down 1.4 percentage points to 50.2%. The PMIs for medium and small enterprises rose 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively, to 50.5% and 50.1%.The production and new orders sub-indices remained above the critical point at 51.5% and 50.6%, respectively. The remaining sub-indices for raw material, employment and supplier delivery time were below the critical points at 49.3%, 48.8% and 49.5%, respectively.Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 49.4%, down 0.7 of a percentage point from March.The composite PMI output index was 50.1%, down 0.4 of a percentage point.

Shanghai Composite^SZSE