Asian tech stocks surged on Thursday due to Oracle’s impressive performance, with Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea hitting records. SoftBank rose 9% in Tokyo following Oracle’s 36% gain, nearing a $1 trillion market cap. AI demand for cloud infrastructure drove these gains, with Asian AI-related stocks rising. European stocks remained subdued ahead of the ECB’s interest rate decision. The ECB is expected to maintain rates, with a 60% chance of a move early next year. US CPI data is the next major risk event, with expectations of a 2.9% rise in headline CPI and 3.1% for the core measure. A benign PPI report has raised hopes for in-line CPI, possibly leading to a quarter-point rate cut from the Fed next week, fully priced in. Markets are pricing in total easing of 67 basis points for 2025, potentially fueling bets of a 50 basis-point cut next week. A surprising CPI report could impact the Fed’s decision and market expectations for further cuts. Key events on Thursday include the ECB policy decision, US CPI for August, US weekly jobless claims, and a 30-year US Treasury bond auction.

Read more at Yahoo Finance.: Asia gets AI fever as Oracle surges