US stocks closed sharply higher on a triple-witching Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0,9%, the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.4%, and the Dow Jones adding more than 180 points, extending gains from the previous session as technology stocks outperformed. The AI-related trade showed signs of recovery, led by Oracle, whose shares jumped more than 7% after TikTok agreed to sell its US operations to a new joint venture involving Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake. Micron Technology advanced 7%, building on its 10% surge on Thursday. Also, Nvidia shares climbed more than 3% after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is reviewing whether the company could sell its advanced AI chips to China. On the downside, Nike shares plunged 11% after the company reported weaker revenue in China, while higher tariffs weighed on gross margins.
Frankfurt's DAX closed about 0.4% up at 24,288 on Friday, the highest in a week, marking the second session of gains, in the aftermath of a series of central bank monetary policy decisions. The ECB kept rates unchanged but provided a slightly better economic outlook, while the Federal Reserve delivered an anticipated 25 bps rate cut. Meanwhile, EU officials announced the approval of a €90 billion aid package for Ukraine, opting not to utilize frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv through loans. Among individual stocks, RWE led the way, rising 1.7%, followed by Commerzbank (+1.6%), Bayer (+1.6%) and MTU Aero Engines (+1.6%). On the downside, retail stocks were hit hardest, with Zalando (-2.8%) and Adidas (-1.2%) dragged lower by disappointing results from US peer Nike. For the week, the index added about 0.4%.
