Stocks Drift as Traders Weigh Trade Truce, Fed Caution and Mixed Tech Earnings – Europe Market Wrap

Stocks wavered as traders weighed a tentative US-China trade truce, mixed tech earnings, and a measured Federal Reserve, with sentiment swinging amid a confluence of global and policy developments.

S&P 500 futures were little changed after the benchmark ended flat Wednesday. President Donald Trump touted an “amazing meeting” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, where both sides agreed to ease export controls and roll back select trade barriers — gestures largely anticipated by markets after weeks of signaling from officials.

The Magnificent Seven megacap tech giants — the main engine behind this year’s equity surge — diverged sharply in premarket trading. Meta sank 8.5% as investors questioned whether its heavy investment in AI infrastructure would yield sustainable returns. Alphabet jumped 7.7% after cloud revenue topped forecasts, while Microsoft Corp. fell more than 2% amid disappointment that its growth failed to match lofty expectations.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, delivered its second consecutive rate cut, aiming to shore up a softening labor market, and said it would halt balance sheet runoff in December. Yet Chair Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone, signaling that further easing this year isn’t guaranteed. Money markets trimmed expectations for another quarter-point cut, pricing odds near 60%, down from near certainty.

In currencies, the yen weakened past ¥154 per dollar after the Bank of Japan left rates unchanged and offered no fresh clues on its next policy move.

Elsewhere, Nvidia — which briefly topped a $5 trillion valuation on Wednesday — slipped 0.6% premarket after Trump clarified he hadn’t discussed approving sales of Blackwell chips to China with Xi, tempering speculation that Washington would permit exports of the advanced AI processors. The chipmaker is slated to report earnings Nov. 19.