Wall Street’s main ‌indexes ​climbed on Thursday as a soft inflation ‌report kept alive chances of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while chipmaker Micron’s blowout ​forecast assuaged some worries about tech sector valuations. Consumer prices increased less than expected in the year to November, while the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor ‍Statistics did not publish month-to-month CPI changes ​after the 43-day shutdown of the government prevented the collection of

What matters in U.S. and global markets today Wall Street’s ‌traditional ​Santa rally is nowhere to be found as inflation anxiety and ‌geopolitical tensions dominate the market mood. Brent crude is rallying after U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned tankers leaving and entering Venezuela, raising ​fresh geopolitical tensions at a time of concerns over demand. Meanwhile, AI fever is red hot in China, an astonishing IPO debut showed. I’ll ge

Meta’s data center under construction in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on Nov. 19, 2024. The company is investing billions in new data centers like this one. (Christie Hemm Klok/The New York Times) By KAREN WEISE and ELI TAN This fall, Microsoft announced a series of deals, totaling tens of billions, to lease computer power for its artificial intelligence ambitions. Meta secured almost $30 billion in financing to build a massive data center in Louisiana without taking on the debt its

Wall Street’s main ‌indexes ​slipped on Tuesday, impacted by declines in healthcare ‌and energy stocks, but the Nasdaq pared some losses in the afternoon. Investors evaluated delayed economic ​data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook for next year. A Labor Department report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 jobs in November ‍following a decline in October because of ​government spending cuts. But the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November agai

Shoppers outside a Walmart in Albany, N.Y. on Black Friday morning, Nov. 28, 2025. For most people, the tax cuts that President Donald Trump signed into law this summer have yet to materialize. But Walmart and many more of America’s largest companies have not had to wait. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times) By ANDREW DUEHREN For most people, the tax cuts that President Donald Trump signed into law this summer have yet to materialize. Only after Americans file their taxes next y

Wall ‌Street ​closed lower on Monday as ‌investors braced for a slew of economic data later this week while ​assessing reports on Federal Reserve candidates and commentary from policymakers for clues on the interest rate outlook. The ‍nonfarm payroll figures for October and November ​are due later this week, along with reports on retail sales, business activity and inflation. ​October’s jobs data ⁠was delayed by the government shutdown earlier this quarter. “Markets today are

Tankers at the refinery near Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Dec. 30, 2021. Shipping and oil market experts said the U.S. military’s seizure of an oil tanker in the Caribbean was unlikely to significantly disrupt a broader network of vessels that move oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries. (Adriana Loureiro Fernandez/The New York Times) By REBECCA F. ELLIOTT and PETER EAVIS The United States’ seizure of a tanker

U.S. investors ‌bought ​equity funds for ‌the first time in three weeks ​in the week through December 10 in anticipation ‍of a policy rate ​cut by the Federal Reserve on ​Wednesday. They ⁠purchased a net $3.3 billion worth of U.S. equity funds during the week, closely reversing a net $3.52 billion outflow the prior week, LSEG Lipper data ‌showed. Investors, however, remained concerned over a slower pace ​of ‌profitability for artificial intelligence ‍companies ⁠as earnings gu

Major stock indexes mostly rose on Thursday, with the ‌Dow ​and S&P 500 posting record closing highs even as ‌technology-related shares fell following disappointing forecasts from Oracle, while the dollar and U.S. bond yields declined. The Nasdaq ended lower, while ​the Dow and S&P 500 added to gains from the day before, when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates but gave a less hawkish outlook than expected. A global stock index was ‍also higher. Cloud computing giant Oracl

Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, speaks at a press conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington on July 30, 2025. The central bank is poised to lower interest rates on Wednesday even as a growing chorus of officials urge caution. (Caroline Gutman/The New York Times) By COLBY SMITH The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday in a highly contentious decision. The split among policymakers suggested