Nike earnings, BOJ rate hike, EU loan to Ukraine - what’s moving markets
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures edged marginally higher Friday after soft inflation data raised hopes for easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve in the new year, even as Nike suffered sales woe in China. The European Union agreed to loan more money to Ukraine, while the Bank of Japan raised interest rates.
U.S. stock futures edged marginally higher Friday, continuing the previous session’s gains on the back of soft inflation data, although weakness by sports retailer Nike has limited gains.
At 03:30 ET (08:30 GMT), the S&P 500 futures traded 17 points, or 0.3%, higher Nasdaq 100 futures gained 105 points, or 0.4%, and Dow futures rose 7 points, or 0.1%.
The main Wall Street indices closed higher Thursday, snapping four-day losing streaks, after a lighter-than-expected consumer inflation reading gave investors hope that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates further in 2026.
That said, these benchmarks are still on course for a losing week, with the broad-based S&P 500 and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 0.8% and 1%, respectively. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite is also down 0.8% week to date.
The economic data calendar includes the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index and existing home sales for November, with investors seeking more information concerning the likely path of the Fed’s monetary policy next year.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) will also be in the spotlight, after the sports apparel giant’s stock fell sharply premarket the sports apparel giant saw revenue in its Greater China market decline during the fiscal second quarter, its sixth straight quarterly sales decline in the country.
CEO Elliott Hill said in the company’s post-earnings call that "it’s clear we need to reset our approach to the China marketplace," which accounts for roughly 15% of revenue.
European Union leaders approved an aid package of €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years to fund Ukraine’s defence, agreeing to borrow the money rather than use frozen Russian assets.
EU governments had been debating whether to use €210 billion of frozen Russian assets, most of it held in Belgium, to support a so-called reparations loan for Ukraine.
But in the end the leaders agreed to raise money through joint borrowing backed by the EU budget.
“Ukraine will only repay this loan once Russia pays reparations,” EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Friday in a statement. “The only way forward is a ceasefire and a negotiated peace. Our political and financial support to Ukraine will not falter.”
The agreement provides a financial backstop for Ukraine, while underscoring Europe’s push to shape U.S.-led peace negotiations to end Russia’s conflict with Kyiv.
“I am grateful to all leaders of the European Union for the European Council’s decision,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X, adding that it was important that “Russian assets remain immobilized and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years.”
The Bank of Japan lifted interest rates earlier in the session, as telegraphed by the central bank, and said that it was prepared to raise rates further if economic conditions improved and inflation remained heady.
The BOJ raised its short-term benchmark interest rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, putting the rate at its highest level since 1995.
The hike is the BOJ’s second such move this year, after a 25 bps hike in January.
The BOJ said it expects Japanese firms to continue raising wages steadily in 2026, while corporate profits are also expected to improve. Coupled with expectations for a tight labor market, the central bank said it was “highly likely” that wages and inflation will increase moderately.
Still, the central bank noted that real interest rates still remained “significantly negative,” and that financial conditions remained broadly accommodative to support the Japanese economy.
The BOJ added that real interest rates were at low levels, and it was prepared to raise interest rates and scale back monetary accommodation further if the Japanese economy improved in line with its expectations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at returning Americans on the moon by 2028 while also aiming to establish a permanent lunar outpost.
Trump said in the executive order that the U.S. needed to pursue a space policy to also further its security interests and “lay the foundation for a new space age.”
The main priority of Trump’s order will be returning Americans to the moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis Program, while also establishing the foundation for a permanent lunar outpost by 2030, the order detailed.
The order calls on federal agencies, including the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, to establish a security strategy for space, while also limiting oversight of the White House’s top space policy body, the National Space Council.
Trump had in his first term flagged plans for returning Americans to the moon by 2024.
Oil prices were set for a second straight weekly decline, as persistent concerns about a global supply glut, coupled with rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
Brent futures slipped 0.1% to $59.74 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.1% to $55.95 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were set to lose over 2% for the week.
Markets have been weighed down by expectations that global oil supply will continue to outpace demand into 2026, with rising output from non-OPEC producers and subdued consumption growth in major economies keeping inventories well supplied.
The U.S. crude contract has shed over 21% this year in its worst performance since 2018, while Brent is down 20% for its worst year since 2020.
On Tuesday, Trump announced a blockade targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil that are already under U.S. sanctions, although it’s unclear how the U.S. would enforce this announcement to any significant extent.
Trump also said, on Thursday, that he believes talks toward ending the war in Ukraine are "getting close to something" ahead of a U.S. meeting with Russian officials this weekend.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)
