US consumers faced renewed inflationary pressure in March as rising oil prices linked to the Iran conflict pushed costs higher, complicating the policy path for the Federal Reserve. Data released by the US Commerce Department on Thursday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose sharply during the month.
US stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors balanced strong corporate earnings against rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and persistent inflation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.64% or 314 points, while the S&P 500 gained roughly 0.22%. Nasdaq 100 advanced around 0.06%. Earnings strength supports market sentiment Investor sentiment found
Real Finance has announced a strategic partnership with Wiener Privatbank to develop a regulated institutional framework for participation in blockchain-based financial markets. The collaboration aims to connect traditional banking infrastructure with the REAL blockchain, allowing institutional clients to access on-chain financial products within a structure aligned with European regulatory standards. Under the agreement, Wiener Privatbank
Stellar (XLM) has been moving through a weak stretch in the market, extending its decline over the past seven days even as the network continues to push new development initiatives. The token is currently trading around $0.159, showing only mild short-term recovery attempts after slipping under key technical levels. Despite occasional intraday rebounds, the broader
Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to raise between $20 billion and $25 billion through an investment-grade bond sale. The move comes as the company accelerates spending on infrastructure to capitalise on the artificial intelligence boom, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The offering is expected to be split into as many as six tranches.
Shares of Meta Platforms fell sharply in early trading on Thursday, dropping around 9%. The move comes despite the company reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results, as investors reacted to a significant increase in capital expenditure guidance. The decline underscores growing market sensitivity to the cost of artificial intelligence investments, even as revenue and profitability remain strong.
Nexo, a digital assets wealth platform, has expanded its Zero-Interest Credit (ZiC) product to include Solana’s SOL and Ripple’s XRP as supported collateral assets. With this move, Nexo becomes the first platform to offer 0% APR, no-liquidation lending backed by either asset, adding to its existing BTC and ETH collateral options. ZiC, which was named
ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded energy giant, is set to release its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report before the US market opens on May 1. These will be the company’s first full quarterly results since the outbreak of the Hormuz conflict, with investors keenly watching the impact on its bottom line. ExxonMobil’s revenue is
Shares of Alphabet Inc. surged on Thursday after the company delivered a strong first-quarter earnings report, easing investor concerns over its rising capital expenditure tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The stock gained 7.74% to $374.22, its 52-week high, as markets responded positively to robust growth across its cloud and core advertising businesses, even as spending
Shares of Microsoft fell sharply on Thursday, dropping around 5% to $402.37 in early trading, as investors reacted to the company’s elevated capital spending outlook despite strong cloud growth and an earnings beat. The decline came even as broader markets showed mixed performance. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.