US–China Relations & Geopolitics

Trade & Economic Progress: President Xi Jinping announced a new joint arrangement reached after recent China-US trade talks, calling it good news. Both nations agreed to support each other in hosting the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders' meeting and G20 Summit in 2026.
AI Cooperation: President Xi highlighted that both the US and China are major AI powers and expressed openness to continuing bilateral AI dialogues and cooperation.
Global Security & War Powers: President Xi and President Trump exchanged views on the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, the US Senate rejected a resolution seeking to curb President Trump's war powers regarding Iran.

Corporate & Market News

Costco ($COST) Q4 Earnings: Costco reported EPS of $6.75 (above the $6.53 estimate) and total revenue of $95.72B (above the $94.92B estimate). Total company comparable sales ex-gas/FX rose 6.7% vs. 6.44% expected.
AI Infrastructure Deal: Anthropic finalized a $12 billion deal with Akamai for AI computing capacity.
Meta Announcement: Meta introduced Horizon Create and Horizon Studio.
MOC Imbalances: Market-on-Close order imbalances showed net buying across major indices (S&P 500: +$2.025B, Nasdaq 100: +$1.562B, Dow 30: +$798M, Mag 7: +$810M).

Crude & Energy Settlements: Brent crude futures settled up 3.41% at $106.60/bbl, while WTI crude settled up 2.66% at $94.61/bbl. NYMEX Gasoline settled at $3.5646/gal, Diesel at $4.7303/gal, and Natural Gas at $3.2970/MMBTU.
Red Sea & Gulf Supply Lines: US Defense Officials reported that 60 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday—the highest daily crude volume since early July—with ~40 coordinating directly with the US military for protection.
Strategic Oil & Export Policies: French President Macron suggested the G7 coordinate a release of strategic oil reserves while expressing concern over potential US diesel export restrictions. France also pledged military support to protect Red Sea shipping routes.

Houthi Attacks: Yemen's Houthis claimed attacks targeting Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and a sensitive target in Riyadh.
UN General Assembly: Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered remarks at the UNGA, during which he called Turkish President Erdogan a tyrant.
European Defense: NATO Secretary General Rutte stated European allies are prepared for potential Russian hybrid attacks.