Global shares rose on Wednesday as technology stocks surged following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of massive spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The dollar weakened to a two-week low as tariffs were delayed.
Shares of SoftBank, Oracle, and OpenAI’s joint venture surged, with SoftBank’s stock rising 10.6% in Tokyo, and Oracle’s gaining 7.1% on Wall Street. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.3%, the S&P 500 added 0.7%, and the MSCI index of world shares rose 0.5%.
Despite global stock markets near record highs, some investors remain optimistic. “We prefer taking risk in stocks and expect corporate earnings to keep driving returns as the fourth-quarter reporting season starts,” said Jean Boivin, head of BlackRock Investment Institute. “We are in a world of higher interest rates and expect them to stay above pre-pandemic levels. Even with the jump in yields, we still see more room to run, if at a slower pace.”
The EU’s finance ministers also showed relief as tariffs on European goods were delayed, with the pan-continental STOXX Europe 600 index rising 0.3%. Infrastructure stocks, such as Schneider Electric and Prysmian, also performed well, gaining 3.5% and 4.1%, respectively.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.6% as SoftBank shares surged 10.6%, while the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% as the country’s finance minister suggested that China may impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
The dollar dropped to a two-week low against a basket of currencies, down 0.6% to 108.16. The euro rose to $1.0457, its highest since December 30. Oil prices remained steady, with WTI crude down 0.2% at $79.09 a barrel, and Brent crude at $75.59. Gold prices added 0.4% to $2,756.3 per ounce.
