By Anietie anii-bassey
Global stock markets delivered a mixed performance Thursday as investors adopted a cautious, wait-and-see approach after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged, a decision that had been widely anticipated but still shaped trading across equities, currencies and commodities.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers believe rates are “in a good place” for now, signaling confidence that current borrowing costs remain appropriate even as inflation continues to run above the central bank’s long-term target.
The comments did little to spark decisive moves in equity markets but fueled notable shifts elsewhere, particularly in precious metals and energy.
Gold prices surged another 2%, pushing the metal to about $5,543 an ounce, as investors continued to seek perceived safe havens amid uncertainty over the future path of monetary policy and global economic growth. Oil prices also advanced, while the U.S. dollar weakened modestly against the Japanese yen.
European markets opened mostly higher, with France’s CAC 40 climbing nearly 1% to 8,142.92 and Britain’s FTSE 100 gaining 0.6% to 10,217.86. Germany’s DAX bucked the regional trend, slipping 0.3% to 24,748.68, reflecting more cautious sentiment among exporters sensitive to currency moves and global demand.
U.S. futures pointed to a slightly firmer start on Wall Street, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edging up almost 0.1% to 49,207.00. S&P 500 futures added 0.3% to 7,026.00, suggesting investors were positioning carefully rather than making bold bets ahead of new corporate earnings reports and economic data.
In Asia, markets digested a combination of central bank policy signals and company earnings. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was little changed, rising less than 0.1% to 53,375.60, as gains in some technology shares were offset by losses in others. Semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 5.2% after posting results that topped expectations, highlighting continued strength in parts of the chip supply chain.
Other major Japanese names saw mixed trading. Panasonic Holdings slid, while memory-chip producer Kioxia Holdings Corp. and electronics giant Sony Corp. moved higher.
Attention is now turning to the coming week, when heavyweight firms including Toyota Motor Corp., Sony and video game maker Nintendo are scheduled to release earnings, potentially setting the tone for the next leg of the market.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.0% to 5,221.25, marking a fresh record. Shares of SK Hynix advanced 2.4% after the chipmaker delivered a strong earnings report, reinforcing optimism about demand tied to artificial intelligence and data centers.
Chinese and Hong Kong markets also posted modest gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.5% to 27,968.09, while the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.2% to 4,157.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped nearly 0.1% to 8,927.50, reflecting subdued sentiment among miners and banks.
Indonesia stood out on the downside, with Jakarta’s JSX index tumbling 1.9% after MSCI, the U.S.-based provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about potential market risks in the country. The comments rattled investors and prompted a pullback in local shares.
Currency markets were relatively calm after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a televised interview that Washington was not intervening in foreign-exchange trading and continued to favor a strong dollar. The greenback steadied overall but slipped slightly against the yen, falling to 153.26 from 153.42. The euro ticked higher to $1.1977 from $1.1955.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said the Federal Reserve’s tone was being read differently on either side of the Pacific. “From Washington’s side, a slightly firmer yen is convenient for domestic manufacturing concerns. From Tokyo’s side, even symbolic Fed acknowledgement buys time and credibility,” he wrote in a market note.
The Fed reduced rates several times last year in an effort to support the labor market, but inflation has remained stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% goal.
Further cuts could risk reigniting price pressures even as they stimulate economic growth, while also weighing on the dollar — a development that would benefit U.S. exporters. President Donald Trump has been pressing publicly for more aggressive easing, adding another layer of political scrutiny to the central bank’s decisions.
Energy prices climbed alongside gold. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 92 cents to $64.13 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, gained 88 cents to $69.28 a barrel, supported by expectations of steady demand and geopolitical uncertainties.
With major corporate earnings reports looming and policymakers signaling patience rather than urgency, investors around the world appeared content to tread carefully, balancing optimism over economic resilience against lingering concerns about inflation, geopolitics and the timing of any future shifts in interest rates.
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