Everything flatlined Thursday morning as investors hit pause on nearly every market: stocks, bonds, currencies, crypto, even gold. No one moved, no one blinked.
Wall Street futures barely shifted, with the S&P 500 ticking up 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 holding the line, and Dow futures creeping 52 points higher. Everyone’s watching one thing: upcoming U.S. jobs data that could flip the whole risk picture.
Intel made a quiet move after hours, surging by 1.5% when Cryptopolitan reported the news that the chipmaker has reached out to Apple for a potential investment. It’s not clear how far talks have gone, but the ask is real. Intel wants Apple’s backing, and the conversation is underway.
Tech weakness hits Asia while exporters gain ground
In Japan, the Topix index moved up 0.2% to 3,176.97 by 9:30 a.m. Tokyo time, boosted by a weaker yen that helped exporters: car companies, electronics makers, and machinery stocks. Sony added 1.6% and led the gainers. Out of 1,673 stocks in the index, 860 rose, 711 fell, and 102 went nowhere.
Bank shares also edged up, driven by speculation that the Bank of Japan could lift rates soon. The Nikkei didn’t join the optimism, falling 0.2% to 45,535.32. Some AI-related names like SoftBank and Advantest were dumped early in the session, as nerves over U.S. tech valuations dragged sentiment lower.
Other Asia-Pacific markets moved with no clear direction. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.13% to close at 26,484.68. Local EV name Chery jumped 11% on its debut, starting at HK$30.75, spiking to HK$34.16, and then ending the session at HK$31.92. Xiaomi gained 3.69% after showing off a stack of new phones and home devices aimed straight at Samsung’s turf.
China’s CSI 300 index on the mainland rose 0.6%, ending the day at 4,593.49. While U.S. stocks dragged, some pockets of Asia stayed resilient… barely.
Retail lifts Europe as crypto dumps and FX stalls
Over in Europe, the Stoxx 600 opened down 0.2% by 8:45 a.m. London time. Every major bourse was painted red except one sector… retail. H&M came in hot with third-quarter results that beat estimates, and that was enough to launch its shares up 10.5%. That pushed the broader Stoxx 600 retail index 1.2% higher. Still, the overall mood didn’t change. Investors there are just as cautious.
Currencies barely moved. The Swiss National Bank kept interest rates at zero, exactly what was expected. That’s the lowest policy rate among major economies. The franc was unchanged against the dollar, which nudged up 0.1% to 0.7960. The euro also ticked 0.1% higher against the franc to 0.9345. The SNB flagged concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs hurting the Swiss economy into 2026.
The dollar inched 0.1% lower against the yen to 148.71, pulling back from a recent three-week high. Traders reacted to the Bank of Japan’s July meeting minutes, which revealed some board members are ready to restart rate hikes.
Crypto was where the real blood was. Ether crashed below $4,000, dropping 4.7% to $3,969, its lowest point in nearly seven weeks. Bitcoin lost 1.7%. Over $140 billion in crypto value has vanished since the week began.
Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, said “institutional inflows cooled,” and technicals were flashing red. Since Monday, almost $300 million has been pulled from U.S.-listed Ether ETFs. That came after $1.7 billion in bullish positions were erased. Lucas said more liquidations are coming if Ether breaks below $3,800.
