European Midday Briefing: Shares Largely Fall as Nvidia Uncertainty Lingers

MARKET WRAPS

Stocks:

European shares were mostly down as the fallout from Nvidia's leadership change continued to hang over markets.

Weakness in tech and defense stocks weighed on the Stoxx 600 falling after closing at a record high Thursday.

Oil prices rose as traders weighed continued disruptions to Middle Eastern oil shipments against prospects for U.S.-Iran diplomacy.

The global market is expected to return to a surplus in the final quarter of this year for the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war, as a recovery in Middle Eastern exports outpaces demand, the International Energy Agency said.

Elsewhere, traders were back on yen intervention watch after Japan's currency weakened to its lowest level against the dollar in two months and the country's finance minister issued a fresh warning against speculative foreign-exchange moves.

U.S. Markets:

Stock futures were down, with the Nasdaq edging lower as investors wonder who will replace Jensen Huang amid the Nvidia's ongoing crisis.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's stock declined almost 2% early Friday as the company dealt with a major global outage.

Investors are now awaiting October's producer price index to be released today.

Forex:

The euro rose. France faces fiscal concerns and political uncertainty ahead of the presidential election in 2027, which could weaken the euro, Commerzbank said.

The dollar eased slightly but remained near the 19-month high reached Thursday, supported by the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by as much as 50 basis points in December.

The greenback's sharp rally could have further to go if U.S. wholesale inflation are firm and Fed policymakers signal further interest-rate rises, ING said. Bonds:

Eurozone government bond yields rose, moving in line with Treasury yields as investors focus on prospects of interest-rate hikes by the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve in December. Commerzbank sees risks of French government bond yield spreads widening as long as the budget dilemma remains unsolved and next year's presidential elections loom large.

Treasury yields mostly rose as inflationary pressures keep expectations for further Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes strong, but the pace of the selloff slowed compared with Thursday. A 5% yield on the five-year Treasury is attractive, according to Jefferies. RBC Capital Markets said bond yields are expected to be flat to higher heading into year-end and the first quarter before turning stable to lower over the rest of the forecast horizon. Energy:

Oil prices were up. ING said recovering Middle Eastern production had eased immediate supply concerns, although reliance on alternative export routes continued to leave shipments vulnerable to disruption. The pace at which traffic through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal remains a key factor for oil prices, it added. Metals:

Gold contracts were steady at around $3,900 a troy ounce.

EMEA HEADLINES

Generali Signals Confidence in Beating Targets After Earnings Rise

Assicurazioni Generali reported a rise in net profit for the first nine months of the year despite higher losses from natural catastrophes and human-made events, and said the results make it confident in exceeding its midterm targets.

The Italian insurer said Friday that it made a net profit for the period of 3.6 billion euros ($3.98 billion), up 12% compared with the year-earlier period. The figure beat analysts' expectations of 3.49 billion euros, according to consensus estimates compiled by the company.

Cartier Parent Richemont Post Sales Rise Despite Uncertain Market Backdrop

Swiss luxury-goods group Richemont reported an increase in sales for its most recent quarter, a bright spot for a luxury sector otherwise facing feeble demand.

The owner of jewelers Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels said Friday that sales for its fiscal second quarter through September climbed 13% from the same period a year earlier at constant exchange rates. Quarterly sales reached 5.95 billion euros ($6.58 billion), surpassing analysts' forecasts of 5.895 billion euros, according to Visible Alpha consensus.

Iran's New Cyber Playbook: Create Real-World Havoc

TEL AVIV-Operators of small-town water stations locked out of control panels across the Midwest. Networks on two Texas-bound energy tankers breached as they crossed into the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of refrigerators in European grocery stores ratcheted up to a blistering 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Three cyberattacks since this summer with real-world impacts and one main suspect: Iranian hackers.

Trump Reverses Course on Iran, Tells Vance to Focus on U.S. Crime

WASHINGTON-President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. didn't need a deal with Iran and would prefer Vice President JD Vance, who has taken the lead in negotiations, work on investigating American cities run by Democrats.

"I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S.," Trump posted on social media. "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!"

GLOBAL NEWS

Oil Prices Rise as Middle East Supply Risks Persist

Oil prices rose Friday, rebounding from declines earlier in the session, as traders weighed continued disruptions to Middle Eastern oil shipments against prospects for U.S.-Iran diplomacy.

Front-month Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $96.43 a barrel in early European trading, while front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.2% to $88.89 a barrel.

Global Oil Market Set to Return to Surplus as Gulf Exports Recover, IEA Says

The global oil market is expected to return to a surplus in the final quarter of this year for the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war, as a recovery in Middle Eastern exports outpaces demand, the International Energy Agency said Friday.

Global oil supply rose by 2.3 million barrels a day in October to 105.4 million barrels a day, following a 3 million-barrel-a-day increase in September. The recovery has helped ease market tightness despite continuing attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial tankers.

Upward Pressure Remains in Treasury Yields Even as Two-Year Yield Stabilizes

U.S. Treasury yields mostly rose in Asian trade on Friday as inflationary pressures keep expectations for further Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes strong, but the pace of the selloff slowed compared with Thursday.

The yield on two-year Treasurys, which were the hardest hit by Thursday's selloff, was stable at 4.861%, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose 2.6 basis points to 5.128%, according to Tradeweb.

Lutnick Fights for His Job as Trump Aides Blame Him for Nvidia Fallout

WASHINGTON-As the fallout from Jensen Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence source continues to consume the West Wing, some of President Trump's top advisers have started shifting blame for the political mess toward one man: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick has been a primary target of the finger-pointing within the administration because of his efforts to stall restrictions on chip exports, his longstanding relationship with the outgoing Nvidia chief executive and his pre-existing tensions with some members of the administration, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Iran's New Cyber Playbook: Create Real-World Havoc

TEL AVIV-Operators of small-town water stations locked out of control panels across the Midwest. Networks on two Texas-bound energy tankers breached as they crossed into the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of refrigerators in European grocery stores ratcheted up to a blistering 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Three cyberattacks since this summer with real-world impacts and one main suspect: Iranian hackers.

Putin Had Four Plans to Defeat Ukraine. He Only Has Two Left.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has four bets on how to win the war in Ukraine. Two of them-that Ukraine's army will break, or that the Trump administration will force Kyiv to submit to Moscow's terms-are going badly.

But Putin's other two bets have a better chance of succeeding by next year: paralyzing Ukraine's economy with relentless missile and drone strikes, and waiting for European support to falter as political parties that oppose aid for Kyiv gain popularity.

Degrees Lead Nowhere. Jobs Don't Exist. Welcome to India's Youth Revolt.

MEERUT, India-Understanding the youth protests rocking India doesn't require attending a demonstration. Instead, step into a windowless room with inspirational quotes on the walls.

At 9 p.m. on a recent night, three young men sat in cubicles in this study hall. They weren't college students, but were among the millions of unemployed graduates toiling to pass government exams for a public-sector job.

Write to priscila.barrera@wsj.com

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2026 05:14 ET (10:14 GMT)