Iran Threatens Gulf Energy Assets as U.S. Tensions Escalate 
Gold Prices Rebound as Dollar Weakens, Fed Decision Looms 
US Stock Futures Mixed as Strong Jobs Data Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets 
Gold Prices Rise as Yen Rally Weakens Dollar 
Asian Currencies Mixed as Yen Rallies on BOJ Bets 
China Inflation Accelerates in August as CPI, PPI Rise 
UK Food Inflation Forecast to Hit 6.4% by Mid-2027 
Japanese Yen Nears Seven-Month High as Oil Approaches $100 
European Stocks Flat as Iran Tensions, ECB Rate Hike Loom 
UK House Prices Fall for First Time Since 2023 
Iran Plans New Gulf Restricted Zone as Hormuz Tensions Push Oil Higher 
Oil Prices Rally as Brent Nears $100 on U.S.-Iran Escalation 
Oil Prices Climb as Iran Threatens Gulf Energy Infrastructure 
China Exports Surge 25% in August as Trade Surplus Hits $119 Billion 
Japan GDP Growth Beats Forecast, Boosting BOJ Rate Hike Bets 
China Boosts Gold Reserves by 650,000 Ounces as Prices Rally 
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U.S. stock futures rose sharply Wednesday night, driven by strong earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms. This positive momentum came after a choppy regular session where Wall Street posted modest gains despite weak economic data.
As of 8:13 p.m. ET, S&P 500 Futures were up 0.9% at 5,636.75, Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 1.4% to 19,931.50, and Dow Jones Futures added 0.4% to reach 40,932.00.
Meta (NASDAQ:META) jumped 5.7% in after-hours trading following upbeat Q1 earnings and an increase in full-year capital expenditure guidance to $64–72 billion. The Facebook and Instagram parent plans to expand AI-focused data centers to support future growth.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also surged 7% post-market after reporting a 13% rise in quarterly revenue and projecting robust cloud growth of 34–35% in the fiscal Q4, reinforcing investor confidence in its AI-driven cloud strategy.
However, earlier in the day, U.S. GDP data surprised markets, showing a 0.3% annualized contraction in Q1, versus a 2.4% expansion in Q4. Analysts had expected modest growth of 0.2%. The downturn was partly due to a 41.3% spike in imports—the largest in five years—as buyers rushed to make purchases ahead of potential Trump-era tariffs.
Despite the economic miss, Wall Street indexes ended Wednesday with small gains. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1%.
Investors now await earnings from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), due Thursday. Meanwhile, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell nearly 6% after weak global sales, and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) posted a profit decline. AI server firm Super Micro (NASDAQ:SMCI) dropped 11.5% after lowering its Q3 outlook.
