Australia’s benchmark S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> fell 0.98% to 9,038.20.<\/p>\n Hong Kong’s\u00a0Hang Seng index<\/a>\u00a0was down 0.38% in the last hour of trade on Thursday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.86% higher at 4,630.28. <\/p>\n \u2014Justina Lee <\/p>\n Nvidia reportedly agrees to buy start-up Hugging Face for $12.9 billion<\/p>\n Nvidia<\/a> has agreed to buy start-up Hugging Face, a store of open-source AI models, for $12.9 billion.<\/p>\n Both\u00a0Business Insider<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Information<\/a>\u00a0reported on the deal, citing anonymous sources. <\/p>\n Hugging Face was recently hacked by one of OpenAI’s models, with the ChatGPT developer publishing<\/a> a technical report on Wednesday detailing how its artificial intelligence models managed to breach the company. <\/p>\n Read more on the reported acquisition here<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Chip stocks rise in Europe after Nvidia earnings<\/p>\n European semiconductor stocks jumped in early trading on Thursday, after Nvidia<\/a>‘s revenue growth smashed expectations the previous day. <\/p>\n Leading gains in Europe Thursday morning were Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturers ASML<\/a> and ASMI<\/a>, which both added more than 2%, STMicroelectronics<\/a>, up 3%, and BE Semiconductor<\/a>, which gained 2%. <\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor <\/p>\n European markets open flat; tech stocks jump<\/p>\n European stocks were little changed at the open on Thursday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 dipping just below the flatline. <\/p>\n Regional tech stocks jumped following Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings<\/a> overnight, with the Stoxx Europe Tech index adding 1.8% and far outpacing other sectors in early trading. <\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Consumer confidence rises in Germany<\/p>\n Shoppers at Roemerberg square in Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. <\/p>\n Ben Kilb | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n Consumer sentiment improved slightly in August, according to the latest NIM and GfK Consumer Climate print, but the index still stood in negative territory. <\/p>\n Consumers are expecting economic conditions to improve, the data showed, with a significant increase in income expectations driving overall sentiment higher. <\/p>\n Despite August being the fourth consecutive month of economic optimism rising, the survey showed German consumers’ willingness to buy “remains at rock bottom.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Pernod Ricard sales drop amid demand slump and Iran war<\/p>\n Bottles of Jameson Irish whiskey, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Absolut Vodka, and Olmeca tequila, all produced by Pernod Ricard SA.<\/p>\n Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n French drinks giant Pernod Ricard<\/a>, which makes Absolut vodka, Jameson whiskey and Kahlua, reported a 3.9% year-on-year decline in full-year net sales on Thursday, driven by weak demand in the U.S. and China.<\/p>\n Full-year net sales totaled 9.4 billion euros, slightly short of a consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. A negative currency impact also hit earnings in 2026, the company said.<\/p>\n Pernod Ricard said it now expects organic net sales growth to fall at the lower end of its 3% to 6% guidance range between 2027 and 2029, citing softness in the American market.<\/p>\n The company said performance had picked up in the second half of its fiscal year, but improvements were hampered by the U.S.-Iran war in its fourth quarter.<\/p>\n The conflict in the Middle East is expected to weigh on sales in the first quarter of its new fiscal year, the firm added. <\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Oil extends decline as Oman-Iran talks over Hormuz Strait raise hopes of improved supplies<\/p>\n Oil extended declines Thursday as talks between Oman and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz raise hopes for easing supplies. <\/p>\n Futures for international benchmark Brent crude<\/a> for October delivery declined 0.63% to $87.29 a barrel. U.S.\u00a0West Texas Intermediate\u00a0futures<\/a>\u00a0for October slipped 0.56% at $81.77 per barrel.<\/p>\n Iran and Oman are\u00a0working\u00a0on finalizing details of an agreement to control the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior \u200bIranian source, Reuters reported. This follows comments from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that the two countries had agreed how to share the waterway.<\/p>\n Concerns over the Middle East conflict, however, still persists. <\/p>\n “A perpetual conflict is being fought in the Middle East, now in its sixth month, significantly longer than the promised four to five weeks,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM\u00a0Oil\u00a0Associates, adding that “there is no clear pathway to ending it.” <\/p>\n Any agreement between these two parties does not mean that there will be normalization in oil flows through the key chokepoint, ING said in a note. <\/p>\n “We would likely need to see the US lift its blockade on Iranian ports and ease sanctions on Iran before we see any move towards normalization,” ING added. <\/p>\n \u2014Justina Lee <\/p>\n China industrial profits growth cools to slowest in seven months at 11.2%<\/p>\n China’s industrial profits growth in July slowed to its weakest pace this year, expanding 11.2% from a year earlier, as soft demand and a broader slowdown in the economy weighed on manufacturers. <\/p>\n For the first seven months of this year, profits climbed 17.6% from a year earlier, according to National Bureau of Statistics data<\/a> released Thursday, loosing momentum following the 18.7% growth in the first half-year. <\/p>\n Industrial corporate profitability, however, has seen a notable turnaround, swinging from barely positive growth last year<\/a> to double-digit gains this year. That recovery was largely helped by a global artificial intelligence boom that fueled demand for computing and electronics equipment manufacturing. <\/p>\n \u2014Anniek Bao <\/p>\n Bank of Korea delivers back-to-back rate hikes as core inflation stays elevated<\/p>\n South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised rates for a second straight time in its bid to cool rising prices, after core inflation reading hit the highest level last month since December 2023.<\/p>\n The Bank of Korea hiked rates by 25 basis points to 3%, its highest since January 2025 and in line with analysts’ expectations.<\/p>\n The hike comes as core inflation in Asia’s fourth largest economy climbed to\u00a02.6% in July.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014Lim Hui Jie <\/p>\n Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falls, mainland China’s CSI 300 flat<\/p>\n Mainland China and Hong Kong shares were little changed on Thursday, with focus on China’s industrial profits data. <\/p>\n Profits climbed 17.6% from a year earlier, losing momentum following the 18.7% rate in the first half-year. <\/p>\n Hong Kong’s\u00a0Hang Seng index<\/a>\u00a0fell 0.22%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 opened flat. <\/p>\n \u2014Justina Lee <\/p>\n Kioxia shares rise 4% as chipmaker reportedly plans a new memory facility<\/p>\n Shares of Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia<\/a> rose 4% on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The move came after Nikkei reported<\/a> that the company plans to invest more than 1 trillion yen ($6.27 billion) to build a new production facility in northern Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Citi said the reported plan was not a surprise, adding that Kioxia had indicated at its June investor day that a new facility would be needed by the second half of 2029. <\/p>\n The bank said it would view the news as “somewhat positive” if confirmed, as it could signal strong demand through 2028, with some demand extending beyond 2029. <\/p>\n \u2014Jenny Lee<\/p>\n South Korea’s Kospi advances 2.5%, Japan’s Nikkei gains 0.5% <\/p>\n Asia-Pacific markets traded broadly higher early Thursday. <\/p>\n Japan’s\u00a0Nikkei 225<\/a>\u00a0added 0.49% while the Topix rose 0.15%. The Kospi<\/a> rose 2.48% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.06%. <\/p>\n Australia’s benchmark S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> was marginally lower.<\/p>\n \u2014Justina Lee<\/p>\n Huang says Amazon GPU deal includes ‘millions of CPUs’ In an interview with CNBC’s Mad Money, Huang gave some more details on the company’s agreement with AWS.<\/p>\n He said in addition to the 2 million GPUs that Amazon plans to buy, the cloud company can purchase “millions of CPUs,” Huang said, referring to central processors. Nvidia is currently ramping up sales of its first ground-up CPU called Vera<\/a>, competing with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, the traditional CPU leaders.<\/p>\n Huang said Amazon will also use Nvidia’s technology for its robotics. <\/p>\n \u2014 Kif Leswing<\/p>\n Japan’s\u00a0Nikkei 225\u00a0set to rise at open<\/p>\n Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Thursday, with focus on China industrial profits data due later in the day and the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium for clues on the U.S. interest rate paths. <\/p>\n Japan’s\u00a0Nikkei 225<\/a>\u00a0was poised to rise, with the Chicago futures contract at 66,995 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 66,120, compared with the index’s previous close of 66,262.16.<\/p>\n Hong Kong\u00a0Hang Seng index<\/a>\u00a0futures were at 25,615, compared with the index’s last close of 25,652.97.<\/p>\n Futures for Australia’s S&P\/ASX 200<\/a> last traded at 9,068, while the index closed at 9,127.80.<\/p>\n Developments in the Middle East remain in focus, as traders sift through conflicting reports. While President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0said that the U.S. Navy had removed and detonated explosives laid out by Iran, a Bloomberg report<\/a> said that U.S. allies were privately warning that the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/a> is still likely mined. <\/p>\n \u2014Justina Lee <\/p>\n Salesforce, Okta among major movers after the bell<\/p>\n A Salesforce sign is displayed at their office on Feb. 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n Benjamin Fanjoy | Getty Images<\/p>\n Beyond Nvidia, here are some other stocks making notable moves after the bell:<\/p>\n Salesforce<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 The maker of customer relationship management software soared 12% postmarket after\u00a0reporting second-quarter revenue<\/a>\u00a0of $11.35 billion versus a consensus estimate among analysts of $11.32 billion, according to LSEG data. Earnings more than doubled from a year ago on an adjusted basis to $5.90 per share\u00a0due to an investment gain. Salesforce would add 160 points to the\u00a0Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday if the stock’s current gain holds.Okta<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Shares surged 19% after the company’s\u00a0second-quarter results<\/a>\u00a0exceeded analyst expectations. Okta reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share on revenue of $805 million for the quarter. That’s above the 97 cents in earnings per share and $795 million in revenue that analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected. The company also raised its earnings and revenue guidance for the full year.Agilent Technologies<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 The medical technology stock jumped 4% on a stronger-than-expected revenue report for its third quarter. Agilent said it brought in $1.88 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast $1.84 billion, per FactSet.<\/p>\n See the full list here.<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Alex Harring<\/p>\n Nvidia shares jump after earnings report<\/p>\n![\"Watch](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/108354879-4ED3-MM-C-BLOCK-082626.jpg\")
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