Oracle Slide Weighs on Nasdaq as FTSE Futures Rise

Oracle shares sank sharply on Thursday and continued to dominate market discussion on Friday morning, after the company flagged weaker revenue growth and higher spending tied to artificial intelligence, dragging the Nasdaq lower by 0.25% at the close. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.34% to a record close and the S&P 500 finished 0.21% higher, while Broadcom reversed late on Thursday, falling 5% in after-hours trading after warning of lower quarterly margins despite strong revenue guidance. In early European trade on Friday, FTSE 100 futures were up around 0.4%, tracking firmer global equity sentiment, while oil prices climbed with Brent up 0.7% to about $61.70 on renewed geopolitical supply concerns.

Equities

London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.5% higher on Thursday, ending the session in positive territory after the Federal Reserve’s latest policy update supported equity sentiment across major markets. The mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.10% by the close. Gains in mining stocks linked to precious metals provided much of the lift, with higher gold and silver prices feeding through to listed producers during Thursday’s trading session in London.

Among individual UK shares, gambling group Entain closed 2.2% lower on Thursday after confirming that Michael Snape, currently at International Distribution Services, will take over as finance chief and deputy chief executive next year. Investors weighed the leadership change as the company continues to adjust its strategy in a competitive global betting market. In contrast, RS Group ended the day 6.2% higher on the FTSE 250 after J.P. Morgan upgraded the industrial and electronic components supplier, lifting the stock during the afternoon session. Clean-energy firm Ceres Power fell sharply, closing 10.6% lower after Grizzly Research disclosed a short position, a move that pressured the shares into the close.

In the United States, Wall Street showed a mixed picture on Thursday evening UK time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.34% to finish at a record closing level, while the S&P 500 added 0.21%, also ending at an all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite moved in the opposite direction, closing 0.25% lower as technology stocks came under pressure.

Oracle shares dropped 10.8% by the close in New York, marking their steepest one-day fall since January. The decline followed a quarterly update in which the company forecast revenue below market expectations and warned that annual spending would rise by around $15 billion as it accelerates investment in artificial intelligence. The update unsettled investors late on Thursday and weighed on sentiment across the wider technology sector. Semiconductor stocks also fell, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closing 0.8% lower.

Broadcom ended the regular session down 1.6% but rose around 4% in after-hours trading after forecasting quarterly revenue of about $19.1 billion, ahead of analysts’ estimates. Financial stocks lifted the Dow, with Visa closing 6.1% higher, while American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs each finished more than 2% higher on Thursday.

Walt Disney shares closed up 2.4% after the company announced a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI, a move that reassured some investors about longer-term growth plans tied to artificial intelligence late in the session.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar weakened on Thursday evening in New York and remained under pressure into Friday morning, slipping against several major currencies after the Federal Reserve delivered a policy message that traders judged to be less hawkish than expected. The euro moved up to $1.1740 during Thursday’s session, its strongest level since early October, while sterling briefly rose to around $1.3390 before settling close to $1.3387 by the end of the day. The dollar also fell against the Swiss franc, trading down to 0.7947 on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 0% and reiterated that the bar for negative rates remains high. Against the yen, the dollar edged lower to about 155.6 late on Thursday.

Spot gold held near a seven-week high early on Friday in London trading, rising to about $4,286 per ounce after touching its strongest level since October the previous day. Silver eased slightly to around $63.67 per ounce on Friday morning, just below the record peak of $64.31 reached on Thursday. Platinum traded close to $1,694, while palladium rose to roughly $1,509 during the same session.

Oil prices moved higher early on Friday after falling sharply earlier in the week. Brent crude traded around $61.60 a barrel in Asian hours, while US crude stood near $57.94. Prices were supported by reports late on Thursday that the US is preparing to intercept more tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, raising concerns about near-term supply.