Futures tracking US equities were firmly higher on Wednesday as strong corporate results from the AI sector drove markets to reconsider their skepticism on the AI trade. Contracts for the S&P 500 rose nearly 1% and the Nasdaq gained almost 2%, while the Dow hovered above the flatline. CoreWeave was over 10% higher premarket after posting strong sales growth and upgrading its guidance, easing concerns over its debt levels that served as a bellwether for the cloud-computing sector. Meanwhile, reports indicated strong subscription demand for Anthropic’s IPO expected by next week, which now targets a valuation of $1.5 trillion, supporting AI companies. Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Intel, and Micron rose up to 7%. Other sectors were steady, with thin trading as the Veterans Day holiday had fixed-income security exchanges closed. Corporate yields surged yesterday after a hot inflation reading consolidated bets of multiple rate hikes by the Fed next year.

The dollar index extended its gains to 102.8 on Wednesday, following a 0.5% advance in the previous session, reaching its highest level since April 2025. The rally came as investors increasingly priced in a more aggressive pace of Fed rate hikes in the coming months, following hotter-than-expected inflation data and increasingly hawkish remarks from central bank officials. Adding to the hawkish tone, Fed Governor Christopher Waller warned that a 50bps rate hike in December could be warranted, while Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan backed at least two further 25bps increases. Markets currently assign an approximately 86% probability to a 25bps hike at the Fed’s December meeting, while investors are also beginning to factor in additional increases in January and potentially April. Meanwhile, oil prices recovered, trimming losses following a two-day decline. The greenback strengthened against all major currencies, posting its largest gains against the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

Brazil’s services output fell 0.1% month-on-month in September 2026, following a flat reading in August, but declining less than market expectations of a 0.3% decline. Despite the contraction, activity remained 19.8% above its pre-pandemic level and just 0.4% below its record high reached in October 2025. A further contraction in transportation services (-0.5% vs -0.1%) led the decline, reflecting lower revenues from road and rail freight, air passenger transport and logistics. Information and communication services also fell 0.5% after a 0.1% decrease, dragged down by weaker revenues in IT services and film exhibition. In contrast, professional, administrative and complementary services grew 0.5% after 0.2% gain, while other services advanced 1.0%, rebounding from a 1.4% contraction. On an annual basis, services output declined 0.1%, following a 0.6% increase in August, ending a 29-month streak of consecutive growth.

Mexico’s industrial production rose 1.3% year-on-year in September 2026, the weakest reading since May, slowing from 3.5% in August and well below market expectations of 3.4%. Manufacturing activity lost momentum, rising 0.6% after a 3.2% gain, as output of petroleum and coal products increased just 0.4% following a 21.4% jump, while basic metals fell 4.8%. Construction also slowed to 4.9% from 7.5%, as a 7.8% drop in specialized construction work partly offset a 29.2% surge in civil engineering works. Meanwhile, mining output fell 1.4%, deepening from a 0.8% decline, dragged by lower oil and gas extraction (-1.8% vs. -0.1%), while utilities rose 3.4%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, industrial activity dropped 1.4%, the sharpest decline since October 2024, after a 0.2% gain in August.

Crude oil rose around 1% to near $87 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a 10-week low as tensions between the US and Iran remained elevated. Prices gained after Iran’s security chief said Tehran would not allow any enriched nuclear material to leave the country, underscoring a major obstacle to negotiations, as Washington insists nuclear issues must be addressed in initial talks to end the conflict. Despite US officials playing down the need for further military strikes, an Iranian security official denied that any negotiations were underway. Meanwhile, shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz continued to support prices, with 37 vessels attacked in October, the highest monthly total since the war began. A tanker was also struck off Oman, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that two other tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines. On the supply side, the American Petroleum Institute reported a 9-million-barrel increase in US crude inventories last week.

Italy’s industrial production rebounded by 1.2% month-on-month in September 2026, above market expectations of a 0.7% increase, and recovering from a 1.2% decline in August. The monthly increase was driven by capital goods, up 1.3%, and intermediate goods, which rose 1.2%, while consumer goods and energy declined by 0.2% and 1.4%, respectively. On a year-on-year basis, industrial output edged down 0.1%. Energy production recorded the strongest growth, increasing 4.7%, followed by capital goods at 2.1%, whereas intermediate and consumer goods fell 1.4% and 3.0%, respectively. Among individual sectors, transport equipment manufacturing rose 7.3%, while electricity and gas supply increased 5.8%. Chemical production recorded the steepest decline, falling 8.3%, highlighting continued weakness across parts of Italian industry despite September’s monthly recovery. Meanwhile, output remained down 0.4% on average in the third quarter compared with the previous three months.