Overview
- Wall Street posted small declines on Monday and Tuesday as investors took profits in major technology and AI-linked stocks during thin trading.
- Federal Reserve minutes showed most officials would support further cuts in 2026 if inflation cools, while some favored holding rates steady for longer.
- European defense names weakened as talks on Ukraine progressed and the U.S. floated 15-year renewable security guarantees, with Thales, Dassault Aviation and Safran edging lower.
- Competing claims colored the geopolitics as Moscow alleged a drone attack on President Putin’s residence and President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the accusation as a lie.
- Selective corporate news moved individual stocks, including SoftBank’s roughly $4 billion deal for Digital Bridge, Meta’s purchase of AI agent Manus, Boeing’s $8.6 billion F-15 order for Israel, and the formalization of Nvidia’s $5 billion stake in Intel, while Paris’s CAC 40 sat about 10% higher year to date but trailed peers.