The Federal Reserve building is seen as it goes under construction on July 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Most U.S. Federal Reserve officials agreed to hold interest rates at its January meeting — but were divided on monetary policy path going forward, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. Some thought supporting the labor market should be prioritized over controlling inflation. That is to say, there were disagreements over whether rates should be kept steady or even hiked if inflation doesn’t go down.
Traders think there’s a roughly 50% of the Fed cutting rates in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Perhaps they should start considering the possibility of higher interest rates, too.
Meanwhile, India is hosting the AI Impact Summit, which is attended by business leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Some highlights from the event are Microsoft President Brad Smith telling CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal that U.S. tech companies should “worry a little bit” over the subsidies that Chinese AI competitors receive from Beijing, and Adani announcing that it plans to invest $100 billion in AI data centers in India.
Other key speeches to look for today include ones from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang.
Separately, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde plans to leave her position before her term ends in Oct. 2027 so that French President Emmanuel Macron — who steps down in May 2027 — can have a say in her successor, reported the Financial Times. Following the news, Europe’s Stoxx 600 hit a record high on Wednesday.
Airbus on Thursday reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, but revenue came in short. The aircraft maker also said its commercial aircraft deliveries in 2026 will be fewer than analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, investors will be keeping an eye on Nestle and Rio Tinto earnings.
In U.S. markets, major indexes rose Wednesday, supported by tech stocks. Nvidia shares rose after Meta Platforms announced Tuesday a deal that will see it using the chipmaker’s next-generation systems. Amazon climbed 1.8% and snapped a nine-day losing streak that cost it over $450 billion in market cap.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
Nvidia sells entire stake in Arm, according to the chip giant’s filing to the SEC on Tuesday. Nvidia had held shares in Arm since 2023, but wound down the size of its stake toward the end of 2024, according to past documents filed with the SEC.
Oil prices jumped more than 4% on Wednesday stateside after U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Iran is “not yet willing” to acknowledge certain “red lines” demanded by Washington. In light of this, the U.S. is not taking military force off the table, Vance added.
Figma reports third-quarter earnings and quarterly guidance that beat Wall Street expectations. Figma’s revenue grew 40% year over year in the fourth quarter, according to a statement. Shares jumped more than 15% in extended trading.
Major U.S. indexes rose Wednesday as tech names boosted markets. Asia-Pacific markets mostly advanced Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 3% to a record high, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rising.
[PRO] JPMorgan prefers international stocks over U.S. ones, equity strategists from the bank wrote in a Monday note. These are the regions and sectors that the bank expects outperformance from.
And finally…
Why India joining this U.S.-led tech alliance could help supply chains
India is joining the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, giving Washington its biggest win yet in the race to shape and influence who has access to advanced semiconductors and AI infrastructure supply chains.
Pax Silica is the Trump administration’s effort aimed at securing the global supply chain for silicon-based technologies.
India’s participation, which will be formalized Thursday at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, brings one of the world’s largest technology markets, and a member of the BRICS alliance, into Pax Silica at a moment when competition over AI hardware is intensifying across geopolitical blocs.
— Dan Murphy