The "highlight of the day" will likely be the record-breaking performance -- potentially a double "intraday/close" high -- for the Dow Jones. The all-time record is now secured, with a new peak at 48,565 points (up 1%), buoyed by gains in Visa (+4.4%) and Home Depot (+2.8%).
The Paris stock exchange nearly matched this performance, rising 0.79% to 8,086 points, and establishing itself as the leader among European markets in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to continue its cycle of interest rate cuts.
Wall Street, meanwhile, presented a mixed picture the day after the Fed's unsurprising announcement. The so-called "Santa rally" seemed to be underway before Oracle cast a shadow over the mood with disappointing quarterly results.
The broad U.S. indices retreated from their all-time highs, dragged down by Oracle's near-14% plunge, leading to a 0.4% drop in the S&P 500 and a 1.1% decline in the Nasdaq.
On the U.S. data front, the releases were relatively secondary: U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.5% in September 2025 compared to the previous month, according to the Commerce Department, following a 0.1% decline in August.
Wholesale sales fell by 0.2% in September (after a 0.2% drop in August as well, taking us back three months).
Weekly jobless claims rose by 45,000 in the United States last week, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department, while economists had expected an average of 220,000 claims.
The four-week moving average stands at 216,750, compared to 214,750 (revised) the previous week.
The number of people receiving regular unemployment benefits, however, fell to 1.838 million.
At the conclusion of its final monetary policy meeting of the year, the Fed on Wednesday cut its benchmark rates by a quarter point as expected, but also lowered its inflation forecast (2.5% versus 2.6%) and announced an immediate return to balance sheet expansion through the purchase of Treasury Bills.
While its chairman, Jerome Powell, did not adopt a particularly dovish tone during his press conference, he equally avoided sounding overly restrictive, emphasizing that a rate hike was not on anyone's agenda within the FOMC.
The institution also raised its growth forecasts, while noting a weakening labor market -- a "goldilocks" scenario that could well justify further credit cost reductions next year.
"The Fed will therefore continue its rate-cutting cycle, and the inflation and employment figures to be published next week will determine the magnitude and timing of the move," said Bastien Drut, Head of Strategy and Economic Studies at CPRAM.
Given that the end of the year is traditionally a favorable period for equity markets, the outlook now appears clear with renewed hopes regarding monetary policy, meaning that year-end window dressing in December could regain momentum.
"As I've already said -- and at the risk of repeating myself -- we are currently facing one of the most bullish cocktails imaginable for risk assets," said Michael Brown, market analyst at Pepperstone.
"When you add in the fear of missing out (FOMO), an extremely favorable seasonal effect, and massive share buybacks by companies, it's clear that the most obvious dynamic remains decidedly bullish," he added.
"I remain calmly confident that the S&P 500 can reach the 7,000-point threshold by year-end," the strategist asserted.
With the Fed hurdle now cleared, the S&P 500 appears well-positioned to post an eighth consecutive monthly gain in December, which would be a first in more than 25 years.
As expected, U.S. yields declined following the Fed's decision, with the 10-year Treasury yield shedding 5 basis points to return toward 4.123%.
In Europe, French OATs and German Bunds each fell by 1.3 basis points and ended little changed.
The dollar declined against most currencies (down 60.45% on average) after the Fed's relatively dovish stance, allowing the euro to climb (+0.6%) above 1.175 against the greenback.
Oil prices slumped following a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude fell 2.2% to $61.2 a barrel, while U.S. light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) slipped 2.5% to $57.25.
Appetite for risk assets was dampened by Oracle's weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
"It's not just the earnings that are concerning, but especially the scale of Oracle's debt and its inability to reassure the market regarding its capacity to finance its massive investment projects," commented a trader, citing the week ended November 29 (the latest available data), compared to 1.937 million the previous week.
