Futures tracking US equities were lower on Thursday, weighed down by a plunge in Nvidia as its board weighed firing CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang. Contracts for the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 1%, while the Dow was flat. Nvidia was down 8% premarket after reports suggested the chipmaker's board was likely to oust the CEO. Nvidia has lost over 20% this month as Huang's involvement with a Megaspeed executive investigated for being a Chinese spy combined with concerns over a lower data center buildout following the Democratic Party victory in US midterm elections. AMD and Intel erased earlier gains to trade down 3%. Meanwhile, Nebius sank nearly 10% after posting its earnings results, erasing its gains from the last session following the earnings beat by CoreWeave. Still, other sectors offered some respite, rebounding slightly after the hot CPI reading on Tuesday supported bets on multiple Federal Reserve rate hikes in the current tightening cycle.

The headline inflation rate in India rose to 6.09% in October 2026 from 5.54% in the previous month, firmly above market expectations of 5.93%. With that, the rate crossed the Reserve Bank of India's upper target threshold of 6% for the first time since October 2024. Food prices, which make up a large portion of the Indian consumer basket, rose by 8.94% annually, picking up from the 7.74% increase in the previous month. Inflation was also elevated for restaurants and accommodation (10.06%) and personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods (10.14%). Meanwhile, transportation inflation was at 5.84%, extending its reversal from lower levels earlier in the year as the surge in oil prices—a commodity that India imports in large quantities—lifted fuel costs for consumers. From the previous month, Indian consumer prices rose by 0.51%.

European equities traded higher on Thursday, with the STOXX 50 gaining 0.3% to 6,415 points and the broader STOXX 600 reaching a fresh all-time high of 665 points, supported by strong third-quarter earnings and easing energy prices. According to Deutsche Bank, STOXX 600 earnings growth accelerated from 22% to 28%, its strongest pace in four years. Meanwhile, Brent crude traded around $93 a barrel, well below recent highs, while European gas prices also declined amid increased Gulf supplies and easing concerns over a renewed escalation in the conflict. Among individual movers, Siemens surged over 4.5% after raising its growth outlook on strong demand for trains and AI-related data centres. Allianz gained 2% after reporting record nine-month results and expressing greater optimism for 2026, while Burberry jumped 7% as retail sales slightly exceeded expectations. On the economic front, UK GDP grew 0.7% Q3 2026, in line with expectations, while September GDP rose 0.2%, beating forecasts.

The US dollar index hovered just below 103 on Thursday after gaining more than 1% over the previous two sessions, reaching its highest level since April 2025 amid growing expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes. The rally was supported by October inflation data that came in above market forecasts, alongside increasingly hawkish remarks from Fed policymakers. Fed Governor Christopher Waller cautioned that a 50-basis-point rate increase in December may be necessary, while Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan supported at least two additional 25-basis-point hikes as inflationary pressures continue to build. Markets are now assigning roughly a 91% probability to a rate increase next month, with investors also factoring in the possibility of further tightening in January and potentially April. Attention now shifts to Thursday’s initial jobless claims and existing home sales figures for additional insight into inflation trends, labor market conditions and the broader economic outlook.

The RICS UK Residential Market Survey showed that the house price balance fell to -36% in October 2026 from an upwardly revised -34% in September, below forecasts of -32% and the weakest since November 2023. This marked a second consecutive monthly deterioration after signs of stabilization over the summer. The new buyer enquiries balance remained at -24%, while the agreed sales balance dropped to -24% from -18%, its weakest reading in three months. The three-month sales expectations balance fell to -11%, while the 12-month measure declined to -17%, its most pessimistic since July 2023. Similarly, the 12-month house price expectations balance slipped to -17% from zero, pointing to a modest price decline in prices. RICS cited rising mortgage rates and geopolitical and energy market developments as factors weighing on the sales outlook. In the rental market, tenant demand improved to +7% from -1%, while rent growth expectations climbed to +41% from +29%, the highest since early 2024.

Japan’s producer prices rose 7.1% yoy in October 2026, exceeding market expectations of 6.5% and accelerating from September’s four-month low of 6.8%. The pickup pointed to renewed upstream inflationary pressures, potentially reflecting higher raw material, energy, and import costs amid a weaker yen. Prices quickened for transport equipment (3.2% vs 2.9% in September), drinks and foods (4.8% vs 4.4%), petroleum & coal (15.9% vs 11.5%), chemicals (15.5% vs 13.4%), iron & steel (6.3% vs 3.2%), electrical machinery (6.7% vs 5.1%), and metal products (6.5% vs 5.8%). In contrast, costs eased for production machinery (4.3% vs 4.6%), electronic components (5.0% vs 5.1%), information and communications (15.9% vs 16.2%), and textiles (3.0% vs 3.3%). On a monthly basis, producer prices increased 0.7%, reversing a downwardly revised 0.2% decline in September and topping forecasts of 0.3%. It was also the steepest monthly growth in five months.