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The NBA brought star-studded lineups to Macau this week for the league’s return to China after six years but many of the biggest wins happened off the basketball court, industry insiders and experts told AFP.Thousands of fans cheered Friday as the Phoenix Suns — led by four-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker — beat the Brooklyn Nets, with celebrities such as David Beckham, actor Jackie Chan and Alibaba founder Jack Ma in front-row seats.It heralded the NBA’s return to China for the first time since being effectively frozen out of the country in 2019 after a team official tweeted support for democracy protests in Hong Kong.Hours after Friday’s pre-season match at a sold-out Venetian Arena, US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China, underscoring the volatile backdrop of the NBA’s detente with Beijing.Even so, the NBA and star players are rushing back to the post-pandemic Chinese market, with LeBron James and Stephen Curry visiting the country this year to hawk their brands.”One thing a lot of the athletes would say is that everyone read about James Harden coming to China (in 2023), selling his wine and selling out in like 60 seconds,” said Michael Lin, a VP at sports digital agency Mailman, an IMG company.Booths near the arena showed off the NBA’s Chinese brand partners, including e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, live-video app Kuaishou and dairy giant Mengniu, as well as merchandise aimed at younger consumers.David Leiner, president of trading cards for Fanatics Collectibles, said the company recently started selling China-specific NBA card packs in more than 30 cities, adding that the 10 yuan ($1.4) entry price point was “critical”.”For us, it was very important to get the product broadly distributed,” Leiner told AFP.- Decades of business -China became a priority for the NBA in the early 2000s in part due to Yao Ming’s superstardom, said Mark Fischer, former managing director of NBA China.Fischer said the business entity NBA China was valued at $2.3 billion around the time of its 2008 formation.That figure grew to more than $4 billion a decade later, according to NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum in a 2018 Forbes interview.In 2019, the league signed a deal reportedly worth $1.5 billion with Tencent on exclusive online streaming rights.But that was soon overshadowed when Houston Rockets official Daryl Morey went public in support of Hong Kong protesters.The NBA making its return in Macau showed that Beijing was “opening the side door but not the main gates and red carpet just yet”, said Fischer, now an international sports consultant.Macau is a special administrative region of China, distinct from the mainland, and famous for its casinos.The teams are also taking their chance to claw back missed revenues from the vast China market.The Suns hired the marketing team behind American internet celebrity IShowSpeed’s well-received China streaming tour.”We’re going as far as working with (the Suns) to shoot content around the players eating mooncakes and making sure that the correct terminology around Lunar New Year versus Chinese New Year is used,” said Andrew Spalter, founder and CEO of digital marketing firm East Goes Global.The Nets, owned by Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai, have an in-house Chinese social media team.- Warning -Victor Cha, a geopolitics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that China still held the “ultimate form of power over the NBA” and could leverage its huge market to force firms to self-censor.A sports marketer in China who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Morey tweet took just minutes to trigger online outrage and that because of the sheer number of people in and around the NBA it will be “impossible” to avoid a similar incident.”We know how quickly things can spiral out of control,” the source said.”It’s not even about an individual NBA player, it’s anybody associated with the brand.”Appearing in Macau on Thursday, Las Vegas Sands president and COO Patrick Dumont tried out Alibaba’s AI technology that purported to translate spoken NBA match commentary from English to Chinese, or vice versa.The Dallas Mavericks owner asked if he could say anything he wanted, as opposed to reading out scripted lines shown to him on a screen.His host pointed at the text and replied, “Technically, you can say what you want, but this would be the most optimised.”

US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.Trump said the extra levies, plus US export controls on “any and all critical software,” would come into effect from November 1 in retaliation for what he called Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” moves.”It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” he said on Truth Social.Stock markets fell as the simmering trade war between the United States and China reignited, with the Nasdaq down 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent.Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under tariffs that Trump brought in while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade, and over alleged unfair practices.China’s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.”There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,'” Trump wrote, describing China’s stance as “very hostile”.The US president then called into question his plans to meet Chinese president Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month.It was to be the first encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since Trump returned to power in January.”I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he wrote.Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he hadn’t canceled the meeting.”I haven’t canceled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it. But I’m going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it,” he said.- ‘Lying in wait’ -The US president said he did not understand why China was choosing to act now. “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” he said.Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”He also accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite what he characterized as six months of good relations, which has notably seen progress on bringing TikTok’s US operations under American control as required by a law passed by Congress last year.His outburst comes just weeks after he had spoken of the importance of meeting Xi at the APEC summit and said that he would travel to China next year.Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year that threatened to effectively halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.Both sides eventually agreed to de-escalate tensions but the truce has been shaky.Trump said last week that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key voting demographic in his 2024 election win, grapple with fallout from his trade wars.China had said earlier Friday that it would impose “special port fees” on ships operated by and built in the United States after Washington announced charges for Chinese-linked ships in April.In a further development, the US communications watchdog said it had successfully managed to get “millions” of listings for banned Chinese items removed from commerce platforms.”The Communist Party of China is engaged in a multi-prong effort to insert insecure devices into Americans’ homes and businesses,” Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, said on X.

Stock markets fell Friday after US President Donald Trump threatened China with “massive” new tariffs, while oil prices retreated as Middle East tensions eased following the Gaza ceasefire.Trump, in an angry and lengthy social media post, slammed China for “very hostile” trade practices, including imposing new export controls on rare earths.In addition to “a massive increase of Tariffs,” other major countermeasures were “under consideration”, he said, adding that he no longer felt it necessary to meet China’s President Xi Jinping at a summit later in the month.Trump’s sharp pivot sent Wall Street’s major indices sharply lower, with the Nasdaq leading the major benchmarks lower, down 3.6 percent.The dollar fell against its main rival currencies.Trump’s message “has been disrupting the market calm,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones, who also noted that markets have been poised for a pullback after a heady rally.Washington and Beijing had been de-escalating trade tensions after a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year, with the Trump-Xi meeting expected to help prolong a shaky truce.However China on Thursday announced new controls on the export of rare-earth technologies and items, adding to regulations on a critical industry that has been a key source of tension between Beijing and Washington.Oil prices had already fallen more than two percent as the Gaza ceasefire took effect, easing concerns about a wider regional conflict that could disrupt supply.But trade war worries pushed prices down more, with the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate ending down 4.2 percent at $58.90, its lowest closing price since April.European markets also slid after Trump’s comments.Paris finished the day down 1.5 percent amid focus on French President Emmanuel Macron’s handling of a rolling political crisis.The president late Friday reappointed his outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, just four days after he gave his resignation.The week was marked by a raft of new records in several markets, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, the Frankfurt stock exchange and gold prices reaching new heights. Silver also surged to a decades-long high.Buying sentiment won a boost earlier this week from news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI had signed multi-billion-dollar chip deals with US firm AMD as well as South Korean titans Samsung and SK hynix.However, there are rumblings that the rally could run out of steam, causing jitters on trading floors.”The AI bubble debate remains a hot topic: some argue this is the new internet bubble 2.0 waiting to burst, others think it’s a bubble that still has room to inflate,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.Such worries have been part of the reason behind the rally in gold to a record price above $4,000 an ounce Wednesday.- Key figures at around 2010 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 1.9 percent at 45,479.60 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 2.7 percent at 6,552.51 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 3.6 percent at 22,204.43 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 9,427.47 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.5 percent at 7,918.00 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.5 percent at 24,241.46 (close) Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 48,088.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,290.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,897.03 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1615 from $1.1564 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3352 from $1.3304Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.57 yen from 153.07 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.98 pence from 86.93 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $62.73 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.2 percent at $58.90 per barrel

US President Donald Trump said Friday he no longer feels the need for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this month, slamming Beijing for hostile trade practices and threatening “massive” tariffs.In a lengthy and unexpected Truth Social post, Trump railed against China imposing export controls on rare earth minerals — a critical component in modern technology.”Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” Trump said in the post, which he sent as he headed for a medical check-up at a military hospital near Washington.”I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he said, adding that he had also seen no reason to call Xi about the issue.Trump added: “One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America.”Wall Street stocks quickly tumbled into negative territory as traders worried the simmering trade war between Washington and Beijing could reignite.As recently as last week Trump had stressed the importance of his plans to meet Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which was to be their first encounter since the US president returned to power in January.He had also said that he would travel to China next year.But in his post on Friday, Trump said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on “each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China.”- ‘Lying in wait’ -“There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time,” Trump wrote.He accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite what he characterized as six months of good relations, adding that he had not spoken to Xi about the matter.Trump also questioned whether the timing of China’s announcement was designed to take the shine off the Gaza ceasefire deal that he brokered this week between Israel and Hamas.Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”He characterized China’s approach as building monopoly positions on magnets and other elements, calling it “a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least.””Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move,” he said.Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year that threatened to effectively halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.Both sides eventually agreed to de-escalate tensions but the truce has been shaky.Trump said last week that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key voting demographic in his 2024 election win, grapple with fallout from his trade wars.China had said earlier Friday that it would impose “special port fees” on ships operated by and built in the United States after Washington announced charges for Chinese-linked ships in April.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he no longer feels a summit is necessary with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this month, slamming Beijing for hostile trade practices and threatening “massive” tariffs.”Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” Trump said in a long post on Truth Social that railed against China imposing export controls on rare earth minerals — a critical component in modern technology.”I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he added in the post, which he sent as he headed for a medical check-up at a military hospital near WashingtonTrump said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on “each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China.””There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time,” Trump wrote, adding that Beijing had been “lying in wait” despite what he characterized as six months of good bilateral relations.Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.”One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” Trump said, adding that he was considering “many other countermeasures.”Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”The president added that he had not spoken to Xi about the matter.He characterized China’s approach as building monopoly positions on magnets and other elements, calling it “a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least.”

Wall Street rebounded, European stock markets steadied and oil prices fell Friday as investors weighed the US government shutdown, fears of an AI bubble and the Gaza ceasefire.The week was marked by a raft of new records in several markets, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, the Frankfurt stock exchange and gold prices reaching new heights. Silver also surged to a decades-long high.The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and the Dow opened higher on Friday, the 10th day of the US government shutdown, after retreating the previous day.”The stock market … has yet to show that it really cares about the shutdown,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Investors were focusing on third-quarter corporate results.Buying sentiment won a boost this week from news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI had signed multi-billion-dollar chip deals with US firm AMD as well as South Korean titans Samsung and SK hynix.The spending added to the hundreds of billions already pumped into the sector as firms look to get ahead in the sphere of artificial intelligence.That in turn has seen investors flood into the tech sector, sending stock prices rocketing — with US chip leader Nvidia topping a $4 trillion market capitalisation.However, there are rumblings that the rally could run out of steam, causing jitters on trading floors.”The AI bubble debate remains a hot topic: some argue this is the new internet bubble 2.0 waiting to burst, others think it’s a bubble that still has room to inflate,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.”And many point out that as long as earnings growth holds, the market can keep going,” she added.Such worries have been part of the reason behind the rally in gold to a record price above $4,000 an ounce Wednesday.Alexandra Symeonidi, corporate credit analyst at William Blair, said that “some market participants started to question the sustainability of the price momentum” and had begun to draw parallels with previous asset bubbles.”So, while the overall market has been healthy, investors have been adding hedges in what is broadly considered to be a safe haven asset.”In Europe, the Frankfurt DAX index and London’s FTSE 100 were flat in afternoon deals.Paris was down 0.1 percent as French President Emmanuel Macron was due to pick a head of government tasked with lifting the country out of political crisis following his last prime minister’s resignation.Oil prices, meanwhile, fell more than two percent as the Gaza ceasefire took effect, easing concerns about a wider regional conflict that could disrupt supply.The US benchmark oil contract, WTI, fell under $60 per barrel.- Key figures at around 1335 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 46,563.85 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,748.22New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 23,064.70London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,507.77 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,033.51Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,609.52Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 48,088.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,290.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,897.03 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1567 from $1.1558 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3275 from $1.3294Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.62 yen from 153.14 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.15 pence from 86.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.5 percent at $63.62 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.6 percent at $59.92 per barrel

Stock markets struggled Friday following a mixed week dominated by the Gaza ceasefire, US government shutdown and fears that the artificial intelligence sector is overvalued.After some equity indices hit record highs, along with gold and bitcoin, “the bull run is on pause”, noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.European and Asian stock markets were largely downbeat Friday after losses Thursday on Wall Street.The dollar traded mixed against main rivals and oil prices slid more than one percent.Nathan added that “the great reality check, otherwise known as third-quarter earnings season, is upon us”.Buying sentiment won a boost this week from news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI had signed multi-billion-dollar chip deals with South Korean titans Samsung and SK hynix as well as US firm AMD.The spending added to the hundreds of billions already pumped into the sector as firms look to get ahead on the sphere of artificial intelligence.That in turn has seen investors flood into the tech sector, sending stock prices rocketing — with US chip leader Nvidia topping a $4 trillion market capitalisation.However, there are rumblings that the rally could run out of steam, causing jitters on trading floors.”Some areas of the market appear overheated,” said Keith Lerner at Truist Advisory Services. Such worries have been part of the reason behind the rally in gold to a record above $4,000 an ounce Wednesday.Alexandra Symeonidi, corporate credit analyst at William Blair, wrote: “Given the strong rally in tech stocks some market participants started to question the sustainability of the price momentum and were driving parallels with recent bubbles.”So, while the overall market has been healthy, investors have been adding hedges in what is broadly considered to be a safe haven asset.”Still, Pepperstone’s Michael Brown remained upbeat on equities and saw plenty of upside. “My view remains that dips in the equity complex should still be viewed as buying opportunities, with the ‘path of least resistance’ continuing to lead higher amid resilient underlying economic growth, robust earnings growth, and a looser Fed policy backdrop,” he wrote in a commentary.- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,500.38 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,045.47Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,571.46Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 48,088.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,290.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,897.03 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 46,358.42 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1575 from $1.1558 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3280 from $1.3294Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.71 yen from 153.14 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.17 pence from 86.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.2 percent at $64.41 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $60.76 per barrel

Asian equities staggered into the weekend on Friday following a mixed week that saw an agreement on a Middle East ceasefire and huge new AI investments play off against the US shutdown and concerns about a tech bubble.While some markets hit record highs along with gold and bitcoin, talk is growing that valuations among some companies may have run too high, sparking talk of a pullback.Buying sentiment got another boost this week from news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI had signed multi-billion-dollar chip deals with South Korean titans Samsung and SK hynix as well as US firm AMD.The spending added to the hundreds of billions already pumped into the sector as firms look to get ahead on the sphere of artificial intelligence.That in turn has seen investors flood into the tech sector, sending stock prices rocketing — with US chip leader Nvidia topping a $4 trillion market capitalisation.However, there are rumblings that the rally could run out of steam, causing jitters on trading floors.”Some areas of the market appear overheated,” said Keith Lerner at Truist Advisory Services. Such worries have been part of the reason behind the rally in gold to a record above $4,000 on Wednesday.Alexandra Symeonidi, corporate credit analyst at William Blair, wrote: “Given the strong rally in tech stocks some market participants started to question the sustainability of the price momentum and were driving parallels with recent bubbles.”So, while the overall market has been healthy, investors have been adding hedges in what is broadly considered to be a safe haven asset.”Still, Pepperstone’s Michael Brown remained upbeat on equities and saw plenty of upside. “My view remains that dips in the equity complex should still be viewed as buying opportunities, with the ‘path of least resistance’ continuing to lead higher amid resilient underlying economic growth, robust earnings growth, and a looser Fed policy backdrop,” he wrote in a commentary.Gold has since fallen sharply, helped by profit-taking as well as a breakthrough in Gaza peace talks and a strengthening dollar.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red, and Asia largely followed suit.Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai were among the biggest losers, while there were also retreats in Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Bangkok and Manila. London was down, though Paris rose with Frankfurt.Seoul, however, rallied more than one percent thanks to a surge of more than six percent in Samsung on optimism about its AI chips and memory business.Mumbai and Jakarta were also up.On currency markets, the yen rose against the dollar after the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition said it was leaving the alliance with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.The move comes days after the LDP elected stimulus-friendly Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, putting her on course to become prime minister.Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito reportedly told Takaichi that her answers on the LDP’s recent slush fund scandal were unsatisfactory. The move will likely make it difficult for the LDP to pass key legislation, including spending.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock surged this week on Takaichi’s election, which stoked hopes for more stimulus measures and a push for easier monetary policies from the Bank of Japan. Futures in the index tumbled on Friday.Adding to the unease across markets is the standoff in Washington that is expected to see a US government shutdown run into a third week, with both sides showing no sign of backing down.Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated a weekend session was unlikely, according to news website Semafor. The Senate was due to be in session on Friday, with an eighth vote on the House-passed bill tipped to fail. Donald Trump repeated threats to slash government programmes popular with Democrats as he berated the party over the shutdown at a cabinet meeting.”The Democrat shutdown is causing pain and suffering for hardworking Americans, including our military, our air traffic controllers and impoverished mothers, people with young children, people that have to live not the greatest of lives,” he said. Democrats are privately preparing a shutdown lasting several more weeks, CNN reported, if Republicans do not agree to their demands to extend health care subsidies due to expire on December 31.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 48,088.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,290.32 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,897.03 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,497.77Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1577 from $1.1558 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3301 from $1.3294Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.87 yen from 153.14 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.05 pence from 86.94 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $61.25 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.84 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 46,358.42 (close)

The price of silver hit a multi-decade high on Thursday as investors kept flocking to safe havens amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty, while gold eased off a record run.Stock markets, meanwhile, were mixed as traders weighed a slew of issues: massive AI investments, corporate results, US interest rates, the US government shutdown, political turmoil in France and a Gaza ceasefire deal.The price of silver topped $50 an ounce, attaining levels not seen since 1980, according to Bloomberg. The surge comes in the wake of sister safe-haven gold, which retreated after hitting a record above $4,000 an ounce on Wednesday.”I think it’s a catch-up effect,” John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion Private Bank, told AFP.He cited concerns about the US economy, prospects of more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year and worries about France’s debt.”What’s also happening — and this is what gave silver an extra boost — is that we’ve started hearing talk of a shortage of silver,” Plassard said, noting that the metal is used as an investment asset as well as for industries such as solar panels.Gold and silver are seen as safe haven investments in times of uncertainty.The dollar firmed against main rivals as it rebounds following a deep retreat for much of 2025.The greenback’s recovery is “being propelled by a dual engine: deteriorating conditions abroad and recalibrated expectations at home,” said a note from Convera that pointed to political instability in France and “dovish pivots” in Japan.On the equities front, major US indices retreated from records the prior session amid a dearth of economic data due to a government shutdown.US stocks have been resilient despite Republicans and Democrats appearing no closer to reaching a deal to reopen the government over a week into the shutdown.”Even the most bullish markets take a break sometimes,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.Investors are turning their attention towards company results.Shares in soft drink and snacks giant PepsiCo jumped 4.2 percent after reporting a third-quarter sales increase that beat expectations.Shares in Delta also climbed more than four percent after the airline posted strong profits and offered a bullish outlook on travel demand.But Boeing slid 4.1 percent following a Reuters report that Turkish Airlines could switch to Airbus for a recent plane order because of concerns about economic terms with engine supplier CFM International.The Paris stock market dipped as French President Emmanuel Macron races to find a new prime minister after the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis.The Frankfurt DAX set a new record high.Ferrari had its worst slump since entering the Milan stock market in 2016, falling almost 15 percent at one point as an update to its 2030 financial guidance disappointed investors.In Asia, the Tokyo stock market closed up 1.8 percent after business-friendly Sanae Takaichi recently became leader of Japan’s ruling party.- Key figures at around 2010 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 46,358.42 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,735.11 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,024.63 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,509.40 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,041.36 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 24,611.25 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 48,580.44 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,752.59 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,933.97 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1558 from $1.1628 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3294 from $1.3404Dollar/yen: UP at 153.14 yen from 152.69 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.94 pence from 86.77 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $65.22 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $61.51 per barrel

European and Asian stock markets traded mixed Thursday as investors assessed the outlook for the global AI-fuelled rally, Federal Reserve interest rates and the US government shutdown.News that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire dampened oil price and defence stocks while gold, seen as a safe haven investment, retreated one day after hitting an all-time high above $4,000 an ounce.The dollar firmed against main rivals.”Risk sentiment remains high, US stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday, as traders continue to dismiss fears of a bubble in the AI trade,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.Technology firms have been riding to ever-higher levels this year — dragging equity markets with them as companies pump hundreds of billions of dollars into all things linked to artificial intelligence. But there is growing concern that the returns may not match the investment sums, leading to warnings that valuations may have gone too far. “AI is clearly a bubble,” warned Neil Wilson at Saxo markets. “The question is when — not if — it blows up. And timing is incredibly hard.”Global politics was another main focus for traders Thursday.Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.In Asia, the Tokyo stock market closed up 1.8 percent after business-friendly Sanae Takaichi recently became leader of Japan’s ruling party.Paris rose slightly in midday deals as French President Emmanuel Macron races to find a new prime minister after the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis.In the United States, Republicans and Democrats appeared no closer to reaching a deal to reopen the government as the row goes into a second week.Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments.Democrats refuse to back any funding bill that does not offer an extension of expiring health care subsidies for 24 million people.Minutes from the Fed’s latest interest-rate meeting meanwhile showed divisions among policy makers over cutting borrowing costs.On the corporate front, shares in HSBC slid in London and Hong Kong after the global banking giant said it planned to buy the remaining 27 percent of its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank for around US$14 billion.- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,515.19 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,077.35Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,664.56Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 48,580.44 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,752.59 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,933.97 (close)New York – Dow: FLAT at 46,601.78 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1616 from $1.1628 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3379 from $1.3401Dollar/yen: UP at 152.72 yen from 152.64 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.84 pence from 86.78 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $65.90 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $62.18 per barrel