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The World in a Week: How Major Markets Moved
United States | Markets were mixed as large-cap tech lifted indexes while smaller caps fell. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, Nasdaq gained 2.2%, and the Fed cut rates by 25 bps to 3.75%–4.00%, signalling caution on further easing. A U.S.-China trade truce boosted sentiment, while 83% of S&P 500 firms beat earnings expectations.
Europe | The STOXX 600 slipped 0.7% as ECB rate-cut hopes faded. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX dropped over 1%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% helped by a weaker pound. Inflation in the eurozone eased to 2.1%, near target.
Asia | Japan’s Nikkei surged 6.3% on stimulus optimism, while China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.4% as growth worries lingered. The yen weakened to JPY 154/USD, prompting verbal intervention from authorities.
India | The Nifty 50 and Sensex fell 0.3% as profit-taking hit IT and pharma. PSU banks jumped 5%, led by Union Bank and Bank of Baroda. Midcaps held firm; Bandhan Bank and Cipla lagged.
Commodities | Oil rose on U.S. sanctions against Russia, with Brent near $66. Gold slipped 3% to around $4,000/oz, easing from record highs as risk sentiment improved.
Stock market closing data for the week of Oct 27 to Oct 31, 2025
Index information: STOXX 600 (tracks 600 large, mid- & small-cap EU firms), DAX (top 40 German blue chips), CAC 40 (leading French stocks), Nikkei 225 (225 top Japanese stocks), CSI 300 & SSEC (mainland China A-shares), and Hang Seng (large-cap Hong Kong-listed firms). For these indices, we track 1-week returns to capture how global sentiment is shifting.
News Summaries
Apple’s Growth Story Hits a Pause in China
Apple’s September-quarter results showed strength in its core businesses but exposed cracks in China, its second-largest market. Revenue rose 7.9% to $102.5 billion, slightly ahead of estimates Yet, sales in Greater China slipped 3.6% to $14.5 billion, hurt by tighter iPhone supply and rising competition from local brands.
Executives struck an optimistic tone heading into the December quarter. Chief Executive Tim Cook projected a recovery in China, while finance chief Kevan Parekh forecast revenue growth of 10% to 12%, higher than market expectations. The new iPhone 17 lineup, including the ultra-thin Air model, is expected to drive what Apple calls its “best iPhone quarter ever.”
Services once again anchored performance, climbing 15% to $28.8 billion, supported by subscriptions and App Store revenue. Mac sales rose 13%, while wearables were nearly flat. However, tariff costs added more than $1 billion in expenses, and further increases are expected. Despite muted investor reaction, Apple’s upcoming holiday season could determine whether its rally regains momentum.
Amazon’s Cloud Revival Signals Renewed AI Confidence
Amazon’s latest earnings showed that artificial intelligence investments are beginning to pay off. Its cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, reported $33 billion in revenue for the September quarter, up 20% year on year, the fastest pace since late 2022 and ahead of analyst expectations. The surge reassured investors that AI demand is strengthening across industries.
The results sparked a 12% jump in Amazon’s stock, its biggest one-day gain since April. CEO Andy Jassy credited the rebound to renewed enterprise spending and rapid adoption of AI tools through AWS, including Bedrock – Amazon’s marketplace for generative AI models and the retail chatbot Rufus, projected to add $10 billion in annual sales.
Total company revenue climbed 13% to $180.2 billion, driven by higher ad sales and improved retail margins. Capital spending rose 61% as Amazon continues to expand its data center capacity, which has doubled since 2022. Analysts called the acceleration in AWS growth “a turning point,” suggesting Amazon may finally be regaining its edge in the AI race.
Adobe Tries to Reclaim Creative Edge Amid AI Shake-Up
Adobe’s annual conference in Los Angeles drew over 10,000 creators and marketers, all eager to see how the company is responding to the AI boom reshaping media creation.
The company unveiled a bold shift by integrating external AI models from OpenAI and Google directly into its Creative Cloud tools such as Photoshop. This move positions Adobe as an “AI aggregator,” offering users access to a wider range of generative tools within its ecosystem.
The strategy reflects both ambition and urgency. Adobe’s stock has dropped nearly 25% this year as AI-native competitors like Canva and OpenAI’s Sora attract creators with faster and cheaper alternatives. Analysts warn the company faces growing pricing and competitive pressure even as it strengthens its proprietary Firefly model, which has now powered 29 billion user prompts.
Adobe estimates its AI-first features contribute $250 million in annual revenue, while $5 billion is “AI-influenced” through pricing or retention. Despite investor doubts, analysts view Adobe’s recent announcements as a step toward reasserting its leadership in the creative software market.
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Theme of the Week: AI and Financial Engineering
Meta’s latest capital strategy underscores how the AI boom is reshaping corporate finance. The company has raised nearly $60 billion this month to fund next-generation data centers with half of it through off-balance-sheet structures that keep leverage from showing up in traditional debt metrics.
Morgan Stanley designed a $30 billion special-purpose vehicle (SPV) backed by Blue Owl Capital to hold part of the debt, followed by another $30 billion in standard bonds. This hybrid model allows Meta to maintain balance-sheet strength while securing vast sums for AI infrastructure. Other firms, including xAI and Alphabet, are reportedly using similar structures to fund data center and chip projects without affecting credit ratings.
Wall Street sees this as the new frontier of AI financing, an estimated $1.5 trillion in external capital could be raised through such vehicles by 2028. But the surge in hidden leverage has drawn cautionary comparisons to Enron-era accounting and the pre-2008 mortgage boom. For now, the AI arms race is not only technological; it’s financial, too.
Key Headlines of the Week
Reliance–Google AI Pact Targets Young Jio Users | Reliance Jio will offer 18 months of free access to Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro, Nano Banana, and Veo 3.1 AI tools, worth ₹35,100, for users aged 18–25. The deal deepens Reliance’s partnership with Google Cloud and marks a new front in India’s AI user race.
Nvidia Expands AI Chip Deals in South Korea | Nvidia signed a landmark agreement with Samsung, Hyundai, and SK Group to deliver 260,000 AI chips. South Korea will build “sovereign AI” infrastructure using Nvidia’s tech, aiming to become the Asia-Pacific AI capital.
Qualcomm Stock Soars 20% on New AI Chips | Qualcomm unveiled AI200 and AI250 data-center chips to rival Nvidia, focusing on efficient “inference” processing. The launch signals Qualcomm’s biggest push yet to move beyond smartphones and into the AI infrastructure race.
