A positive trend in Europe, and what is happening in early trading on Wall Street?

12:45

The trading day in Europe has a positive trend. The German DAX index adds about 0.6% to its value, the British FTSE strengthens by about 0.4% and so does the French CAC.

Contrary to the trend in Israel and Europe, the futures on Wall Street now indicate slight declines. The Dow Jones is down about 0.2%, and the S&P500 and the Nasdaq lose about 0.1% of their value. In the background, the market is looking forward to the consumer price index for the month of March which will be published today at 15:30 (Israel time). Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 0.9% increase compared to February and a 3.3% increase compared to the previous 12 months.

At the same time, in Asia, the trading day closed with gains – the Nikkei jumped by about 1.9%, the Kospi added to its value by about 1.4%, the Shanghai rose by about 0.5% and the Hang Seng strengthened by about 0.4%.

Yesterday, Wall Street saw a recovery in stock indices again, while the surge in oil prices was halted following the reports of Israel agreeing to direct talks with Lebanon. This political move strengthens the estimates that the American ceasefire agreement will indeed last, which calms the markets, at least temporarily.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to close its seventh straight day of gains – the longest streak since October – and all this despite some software stocks continuing to suffer from selling pressure. Nasdaq rose by 0.9% and Dow Jones by 0.4%.

At the same time as the increases in the indices, the economic data published yesterday reveal a complex picture of a slowdown in growth; The American economy expanded in the last months of 2025 at a lower rate than early forecasts, and consumer spending in February hardly grew under the burden of inflation.

stock Curvive andMeta Platforms (Facebook) They came after the two companies signed a partnership expansion, in the framework of which Corviv will provide Meta with computing capacity for artificial intelligence until 2032, to the extent of 21 billion dollars.

Amazon It came after CEO Andy Jesse published his letter to shareholders, in which he outlined possible plans to sell AI chips and robots.

Intel rose by about 5% to a five-year high. The company, which is trying to promote the use of its technology in data centers, announced that Google has committed to using future generations of its Xeon processors and other chips.

US software stocks fell as fears of disruption from advances in artificial intelligence returned to center stage after a recent update from Anthropic. Investors have sold the sector’s shares this year amid concerns that AI tools, capable of automating human tasks, could pose an existential threat to the industry. index S&P 500 Software and Services Index The broad is down 25.5% since the beginning of the year.

Stocks stood out negatively Wix.com andPlanetir Technologies . In addition to the Israeli Wix, also Palo Alto , nice andmonday going down

In the oil sector, oil prices are up 1% today and stand at $96.9 per barrel. This, after yesterday, the announcement of the ceasefire led to a drop in prices. Biolius Barr warned that “the ceasefire is a significant relief for the markets, but it is accompanied by violations, contradictions and ambiguities typical” of the situation.

According to the bank’s economists, “it seems that the peak of the supply shock is already behind us – also in view of the violations of the ceasefire – thanks to alternative routes, the gradual increase in traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the imminent end of the adjustment of global supply chains”. Biolius Barr estimates that a “quick and powerful” scenario is expected, which includes a sharp but temporary price spike, rather than a lasting crisis. “However, the conflict is at its peak, and therefore uncertainty is high. We maintain a ‘neutral’ recommendation for oil and gas, and estimate that prices will drop significantly towards the summer season,” the bank’s officials summarize their forecast.

The dollar exchange rate this morning traded at about NIS 3.04, thus continuing the negative trend from yesterday and close to a 4-year high. In fact, the shekel reacted not only to the ceasefire and yesterday’s recovery on Wall Street, but also to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement that he ordered the opening of direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and regulating peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today’s call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to disengage from Beirut.

On the eve of the holiday, the dollar rate was still at 3.15 shekels, and after the announcement of the ceasefire, the rate dropped below the level of 3.1 shekels per dollar. “Yesterday during trading, the dollar weakened against the shekel to its lowest level in about 30 years following the ceasefire in the Iran war and the news of the start of talks with Lebanon for the purpose of disbanding Hezbollah,” says Idit Moskovitz, director of trading rooms at the International Bank. “Even against the global currency basket, the dollar weakened, but with a lower intensity against the trend in the local market.”