NVDA shares fell despite a positive report. Oil prices are rising amid a reduction in inventories

On Wednesday, stock indices recovered from early losses and advanced. The Dow Jones Index (US30) rose by 0.32%. The S&P 500 Index (US500) gained 0.24%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Index (US100) closed up by 0.17%. The S&P 500 (US500) set a new record, and the Nasdaq (US100) hit a weekly high. The strengthening of software company stocks drove the overall market higher.

On Wednesday, Nvidia reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, but data center sales revenue was slightly below expectations, as US restrictions on H20 chip sales to China had a negative impact. Following the report’s release, NVIDIA shares dropped by about 3.1% in aftermarket trading.

European stock markets mostly declined on Wednesday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed up by 0.44%, Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) fell by 0.65%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) dropped by 0.11%. Investors continued to monitor the heightened political uncertainty in France ahead of a confidence vote on September 8. Domestically in Germany, the GfK Consumer Climate Indicator fell to 23.6 in September 2025 from a slightly revised negative 21.7 in August, missing the expectations of a negative 22.0 and marking the weakest reading since April. The decline reflects households’ growing concerns about potential job cuts and persistent inflation. On the corporate front, Commerzbank (-2.5%), Deutsche Bank (-2.3%), and Siemens Energy (-1.6%) suffered sharp losses. Conversely, automaker stocks traded higher, led by Porsche (+2.4%), Mercedes-Benz (+1%), and BMW (+0.9%).

The Swiss Investor Sentiment Index fell by 56.2 points month-over-month to 53.8 in August 2025, signaling a return to pessimism after a brief positive reading of 2.4 in July. This is the weakest reading since November 2022, primarily due to the US imposing a 39% tariff on Swiss exports in early August. The US accounts for about 17% of Switzerland’s total exports, making it the country’s largest export market. Analysts expect Swiss export dynamics to weaken in the next six months.

WTI oil prices rose to $64.1 per barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a 2.4% fall on Tuesday, after US government data pointed to a larger-than-expected reduction in inventories. Crude oil inventories shrank by 2.39 million barrels to 418.3 million, which was more than the market anticipated, while stocks at the key Cushing hub decreased by 838,000 barrels.

Asian markets were mostly down on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) rose by 0.30%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) fell by 1.97%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) was down by 1.27%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) showed a positive result of 0.28%.

The Hang Seng Index fell by 1.27% on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains and marking a second day of losses amid a sell-off across all sectors. Sentiment worsened after several Chinese brokerage firms and fund managers reportedly restricted financing and purchases amid growing risks associated with the recent sharp rise in mainland stocks. Trading volume on Chinese exchanges on Tuesday exceeded 3.1 trillion yuan, the second-highest record.

The Australian dollar rose above the $0.650 mark on Thursday, extending its rally for a third consecutive session, supported by easing bets on another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Market prices now imply only about 34 basis points of additional easing by the end of 2025, and the probability of a September move has decreased to roughly 25%, after July’s inflation came in higher than expected.