Lola Evans
12 Dec 2025, 02:39 GMT+10
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. technology stocks took a back seat Thursday, while the broader market rallied on the back of the Federal Reserve's quarter point interest rate cut a day earlier.
A disappointing earnings report from Oracle set the trend for the tech sector, while the Dow Jones led industrials stocks higher. The Dow itself posted a new record high on Thursday, its 18th for the year. The Standard and Poor's 500 also notched up an all-time high,
Oracle shares closed at $199.57, down 10.51 percent, after being down more than 13 percent earlier in the day.
"The market is properly concerned with Oracle and, by extension, with the AI trade in general, because there's literally trillions of dollars of commitments out there, but there's clearly a difficulty in figuring out how this is going to transpire, and Oracle, to some extent, is acting like the canary in the coal mine," Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers told CNBC Thursday. "The market's right to rotate a little bit away from this," he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the advancers with a substantial gain, climbing 646.26 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 48,704.01.
In contrast, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite struggled, declining by 60.30 points, or 0.25 percent, to finish the session at 23,593.86.
The broader S&P 500 managed a modest gain, edging up 14.31 points, or 0.21 percent, to settle at 6,900.99.
Market analysts attributed the divergence to a significant sector rotation, with money flowing out of some major technology names and into industrial and financial shares that dominate the Dow. The move suggests investors may be rebalancing portfolios amid shifting expectations for interest rates and economic growth.
The trading activity underscored a cautious yet selectively optimistic sentiment, with the Dow's rally indicating confidence in the broader economy even as higher-valued tech stocks faced profit-taking pressure.
U.S. Dollar Softens Against Major Peers in Thursday Trading
The U.S. Dollar traded with a softer tone against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, with notable strength in the Euro and Swiss Franc driving the session's forex movements.
The Euro (EUR/USD) was a standout performer, gaining 0.43 percent to trade at 1.1744. The British Pound (GBP/USD) also edged higher against the greenback, rising 0.09 percent to 1.3394.
The dollar also lost ground against several traditional safe-haven and commodity-linked currencies. The Swiss Franc (USD/CHF) saw significant appreciation, with the pair falling 0.70 percent to 0.7942.
The Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) strengthened, pushing the pair down 0.31 percent to 155.52.
The dollar also weakened against its Canadian counterpart, with USD/CAD declining 0.14 percent to 1.3772.
The commodity-sensitive Australian Dollar (AUD/USD) dipped slightly by 0.15 percent to 0.6664, while the New Zealand Dollar (NZD/USD) saw a more modest decrease of 0.09 percent to 0.5810.
European and Asia-Pacific Markets Close Mixed on Thursday; UK and Europe Rallies
Thursday's trading session painted a divergent picture across global equity markets, with European indices posting broad gains while trading in the Asia-Pacific region was more varied.
European indices finished solidly higher, leading the day's advance. Germany's DAX performed strongly, climbing 164.47 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 24,294.61.
In France the CAC 40 rose 63.07 points, or 0.79 percent, settling at 8,085.76. The pan-European EURO STOXX 50 gained 45.84 points, or 0.80 percent, to end the session at 5,753.96.
The UK's FTSE 100 added 47.63 points, or 0.49 percent, finishing at 9,703.16. The broader Euronext 100 Index increased by 10.50 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,702.04, while Belgium's BEL 20 edged up 11.40 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,000.50.
Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index posted a solid increase, rising 169.88 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 31,660.73.
In the Asia-Pacific region, performance was mixed. China's SSE Composite Index closed at 3,873.32, down 27.18 points, or 0.70 percent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 12.60 points, or 0.15 percent, to 8,592.00, and the All Ordinaries index gained 9.30 points, or 0.10 percent, closing at 8,877.50.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 rose 24.81 points, or 0.19 percent, to 13,395.87.
India's S&P BSE Sensex continued its strong run, adding 426.86 points, or 0.51 percent, to a closing level of 84,818.13.
In Singapore the STI Index was up 8.93 points, or 0.20 percent, at 4,520.83. Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI saw a notable rise of 14.39 points, or 0.89 percent, ending at 1,625.39.
However, several major Asian markets closed in negative territory. In Japan the Nikkei 225 fell 453.98 points, or 0.90 percent, to 50,148.82.
In Taiwan the TWSE Index experienced a significant decline, dropping 375.98 points, or 1.32 percent, to 28,024.75. South Korea's KOSPI decreased by 24.38 points, or 0.59 percent, to 4,110.62.
Indonesia's IDX Composite fell 80.44 points, or 0.92 percent, to 8,620.48. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished nearly flat, dipping a marginal 10.27 points, or 0.04 percent, to 25,530.51.
Middle East markets
Israel's TA-125 jumped 37.95 points, or 1.05 percent, to 3,648.10.
In Egypt the EGX 30 saw a slight decrease of 19.00 points, or 0.05 percent, closing at 42,033.80.
Africa
South Africa's Top 40 USD Index posted a substantial gain of 130.73 points, or 2.00 percent, ending at 6,674.30.
(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).
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Wednesday 10 December 2025 | U.S. stock markets surge on Fed rate decision | Big News Network.com
Tuesday 9 December 2025 | All eyes on Fed as U.S. markets diverge | Big News Network.com
Monday 8 December 2025 | Wall Street slides ahead of Wednesday's Fed rate decision | Big News Network.com
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