Markets Wait For U.S. PCE Inflation

The Ibovespa was steady near 164,500 on Friday as investors awaited US inflation data that could shape expectations for a Fed rate cut next week, coinciding with the Copom decision.

Confidence remains high that the figures will not derail the Fed’s easing path.

In corporate news, Santander Brasil was flat after issuing R$2.363 billion in subordinated financial bills to reinforce its reference equity.

Brava fell over 1% following a 17.5% monthly drop in production.

Meanwhile, Petrobras (+0.2%), WEG (+0.5%), and Axia (+0.7%) advanced, while Vale and Ambev edged lower.

Major banks also declined, with Itaú down 0.2% and Bradesco 0.4%.

On the macro front, the PPI fell 1.82% year-on-year, marking the ninth straight negative reading.

Futures tracking the S&P/TSX Composite Index edged lower on Friday, as investors digested strong Canadian labor data that tempered hopes for further BoC rate cuts.

Canada’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a 16-month low, though most job gains were part time, reinforcing views that the central bank may keep policy steady.

The pullback comes after upbeat earnings from TD Bank, CIBC, and Bank of Montreal helped drive the benchmark to a record high in the previous session.

In commodities, oil prices slipped, pressuring energy stocks, while gold firmed on a softer US dollar and continued bets that the Fed will cut rates next week.

US stock futures edged higher on Friday, with S&P 500 contracts up 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.4%, and Dow Jones futures adding about 60 points.

Traders are awaiting the delayed PCE report which includes the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, though the data is unlikely to shift expectations for next week’s policy decision.

Markets are pricing in roughly an 87% chance of another Fed rate cut, helping to support sentiment.

Megacaps were mostly higher in premarket trading, including Nvidia (0.4%), Microsoft (0.3%), Amazon (0.5%), Alphabet (0.4%), Meta (0.5%) and Broadcom (1.2%), while Apple and Tesla hovered near the flatline.

Meanwhile, Netflix shares fell about 1.9% after the company announced a deal to acquire Warner Bros.

Discovery.

For the week, the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, on track for its first back-to-back weekly gain since October.

The Nasdaq has risen 0.6%, and the Dow Jones is up 0.3% so far.

BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The U.K. stock market gained marginal ground in positive territory Friday morning as investors picked up stocks, expecting an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

The benchmark FTSE 100 up 9.65 points or 0.1% at 9,720.52 about a quarter before noon.

3i Group gained more than 3%. Melrose Industries also moved up 3%. Burberry Group, RightMove, WPP, JD Sports Fashion and Anglo American Plc gained 2 to 2.75%.

Babcock International, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Barratt Redrow, ICG, Halma, Persimmon, Land Securities, IMI, Entain, Antofagasta, AstraZeneca and St. James's Place also posted stronger gains.

BP drifted down 2.3% and Airtel Africa eased by about 2.2%. Shell, Smiths Group, Vodafone Group, Whitbread, Imperial Brands and Severn Trent lost 0.7 to 1.4%.

In economic news, UK house prices stagnated in November ahead of the Autumn budget announcement, data from the mortgage lender Halifax revealed.

House prices registered a nil growth in November after a 0.5% rise in October. Prices were forecast to climb 0.2%. Nonetheless, average property prices hit another new record high of GBP 299,892.

Annual growth in house prices eased to 0.7% in November, the weakest since March 2024, from 1.9% in October.

Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - France's CAC 40 climbed higher on Friday, extending gains to a third straight session, amid rising hopes the Federal Reserve will lower interest rate by 25 basis points next week.

The CAC 40 was up 31.73 points or 0.4% at 8,153.76 a few minutes past noon.

Edenred, up 2.2%, was the top gainer in the CAC 40 index. Saint Gobain gained a little over 2%, while Stellantis and STMicroElectronics moved up 1.86% and 1.8%, respectively.

Capgemini, EssilorLuxottica, Sanofi, Airbus, Carrefour, Vinci and Pernod Ricard gained 1 to 1.5%. Hermes International, BNP Paribas and Kering moved up nearly 1%.

Credit Agricole, Accor, Publicis Groupe, Euronext, Schneider Electric and Danone also posted notable gains.

Orange drifted lower by 1.7%. LVMH and Total Energies lost 1.2% and 1%, respectively. Unibail Rodamco and Societe Generale were modestly lower at noon.

Revised data from Eurostat showed the euro area economy logged a faster-than-estimated growth in the third quarter, underpinned by government spending and investment.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3% sequentially compared to a marginal growth of 0.1% in second quarter. The third quarter growth was revised up from 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, GDP growth was confirmed at 1.4%, which was slower than the prior quarter's 1.6% expansion.

Industrial production in France increased 0.2% month-on-month in October, easing from a downwardly revised a 0.7% gain in September but defying market expectations of a 0.3% fall, data from INSEE showed.

Meanwhile, France's trade deficit narrowed sharply to €3.9 billion in October 2025 from €6.4 billion in September, well below expectations of €6.8 billion and marking the smallest gap since December 2024. Exports slipped 0.5% month-on-month to €51.7 billion, while imports declined at a faster 4.6% to a four-year low of €55.6 billion.

Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

India's BSE Sensex finished about 0.5% up at 85,712.4 on Friday, the highest in over a week, extending gains from the previous session, as traders welcomed the RBI's 25 bps rate cut.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced its key benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months and implemented measures to enhance liquidity as benign outlook for prices provided room to further support growth.

Rate-sensitive financials and autos spearheaded the rally, with SBI (+2.5%), Bajaj Finserv (+2.1%), Bajaj Finance (+1.8%), Maruti Suzuki (+1.8%) among the top performers.

US-exposed IT stocks also continued to rise on rising bets of a Fed rate cut next week.