Global Stocks Rise to Record as Rally Broadens Out: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Global stocks climbed to a fresh record as the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut this week and its upbeat assessment of the US economy boosted investor sentiment.
The MSCI All Country World Index — one of the broadest measures of the equity market — added 0.2% on Friday after closing at an all-time high in the previous session. The S&P 500 also scaled a new peak as the VIX volatility index slid to a three-month low. MSCI Inc.’s index of Asian shares jumped 1.3%, poised for its highest close in a month.
Tech shares underperformed in Asia, as they did in the US, signaling a broadening out of the rally that has driven the global equities gauge up nearly 21% in 2025, putting it on track for its best year since 2019.
“The momentum should continue into year-end,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “With rate cuts underway, a new Fed chair on deck, and earnings trending higher, the bull market looks positioned to extend into 2026. As more companies adopt AI, participation should broaden and sectors beyond the Magnificent Seven may start to show strength.”
While the S&P 500 rose 0.2% on Thursday, some caution for tech names persisted. Shares of Broadcom Inc., a chip company vying with Nvidia Corp. for AI computing revenue, slid in late trading after its sales outlook failed to meet investors’ lofty expectations. S&P 500 futures were little changed on Friday, though contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%.
Japan’s Topix led gains in Asia and also traded at an all-time high, with financials favored on bets that a Bank of Japan interest-rate hike next week is all but certain. Meanwhile, onshore Chinese equities underperformed after the nation’s leadership signaled it will maintain economic support but refrain from ramping up stimulus next year.
Weak Dollar
Delivering a third consecutive rate reduction on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell voiced optimism that the US economy will strengthen as the inflationary impact from tariffs fades away. While officials kept their outlook for just one cut in 2026, traders have stuck to bets for two such moves.
The Fed now expects the US economy to grow by 2.3% next year, up from its previous projection of 1.8%, while anticipating that the pace of inflation will slow to 2.4%.
Bloomberg’s index of the dollar traded near a two-month low on Friday and was on track for a third weekly loss. Treasury 10-year yields were steady after a small gain on Thursday, when data showed that US initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended Dec. 6.
Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit advanced to the strongest level against the dollar in more than four years, reflecting optimism on the Southeast Asian country’s economy and easing trade tensions.
Thailand’s stocks trailed the region’s gains after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament late Thursday, setting the stage for an early election after reports of a key political party backing his minority government moving to withdraw its support.
The tech sector continued to be a focus for investors as Broadcom’s decline followed results from Oracle Corp. earlier in the week — which brought back into focus worries about lofty valuations and whether heavy spending on AI infrastructure will pay off.
“We’ve cut a little bit of our equity exposure into the end of the year just because we are worried a bit about the AI wobble, about the uncertainty around the Fed,” Ben Bennett, head of investment strategy for Asia at Legal & General Investment Management Ltd., said on Bloomberg Television.
In commodities, copper climbed to a fresh record on Friday as most other industrial metals rose after the Fed move. Gold was steady after three days of gains while silver traded near a record high. Oil rallied from its lowest close in almost two months.
Corporate News
China Vanke Co. offered creditors details of its plan to delay payment on a second bond maturing this month, as it races to avert a default on any of its nearly $2 billion of local debt that is due in the coming months. Moore Threads Technology Co. shares slumped as much as 19% after the Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker warned investors about elevated trading risks following huge gains. SoftBank Group Corp. is studying potential acquisitions including data center operator Switch Inc., as billionaire founder Masayoshi Son ramps up the search for deals that can help it ride the AI-fueled boom in digital infrastructure, people with knowledge of the matter said. Walt Disney Co. is licensing iconic characters including Mickey Mouse and Cinderella to OpenAI for use on its artificial intelligence video platform and has agreed to take a $1 billion stake in the startup. Huawei Technologies Co. and manufacturing partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. are making advances in chip production technology despite US attempts to limit their progress, according to analysis of a new phone’s components by research firm TechInsights. China’s internet search leader Baidu Inc. is seeing a fresh wave of bullish calls from analysts thanks to the possible listing of its chip unit Kunlunxin. OpenAI is rolling out a new artificial intelligence model designed to make ChatGPT better at coding, science and a wide range of work tasks, weeks after Alphabet Inc.’s Google put the startup on defense with the well-received launch of Gemini 3. Sembcorp Industries Ltd. agreed to buy Australian power generator and retailer Alinta Energy Pty for A$6.5 billion ($4.3 billion) in enterprise value, furthering the Singaporean company’s ambitions to expand outside its home market. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 6:21 a.m. London time Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.8% S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 1.4% Japan’s Topix rose 2% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.8% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.6% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was unchanged at $1.1738 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 155.75 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.0519 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3397 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $92,643.51 Ether rose 0.4% to $3,263.19 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.16% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.84% Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.48% Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.73% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $58.04 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Richard Henderson and Catherine Ngai.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
