Top Global Stories This Week: JD.com, Rolls-Royce, Thyssenkrupp Highlighted

Global Stock Markets Rally on Optimism for Fed Rate Cut

Most major stock indexes around the world closed the week with gains, fueled by a sense of optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in its upcoming meeting. This sentiment was further bolstered by an extension of the U.S.-China trade truce, which helped ease some market concerns.

In the United States, inflation remained stable in July 2025, with the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) coming in below forecasts. However, core inflation rose to a five-month high, indicating underlying cost pressures. Producer prices saw their largest monthly increase since 2022, while retail sales continued to grow. Industrial production, though slightly down, did not meet expectations. Overall, the data suggested limited tariff-related inflation, leaving room for a possible rate cut in September.

During the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, and the Nasdaq 100 moved up 0.8%. The Dow Jones outperformed, rising 1.7%.

Across Europe, equity markets also saw positive movements. The European index, STOXX, ended the week higher by 1% as global sentiment improved. In the Eurozone, economic momentum slowed in Q2 2025, with both annual and quarterly GDP growth remaining steady but below earlier estimates. Industrial production declined in June, reversing May’s gains but falling short of expectations.

In the UK, retail sales growth slowed and fell below expectations, while industrial and manufacturing output rebounded. Stronger-than-expected UK GDP data reinforced the Bank of England's hawkish stance. London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX each gained 0.5% and 0.9% respectively, while France’s CAC added 2.3%.

Corporate Developments in Europe

This week, several major European companies reported significant news. Danish brewer Carlsberg missed half-year profit and volume forecasts, warning that there would be no consumer recovery in the rest of 2025. Thyssenkrupp posted a larger-than-expected third-quarter loss and revised its full-year profit and revenue guidance downward, citing challenging market conditions. Rolls-Royce offloaded its UK pension scheme in a £4.3 billion buyout with the Pension Insurance Corporation, marking the UK's largest risk-transfer deal this year.

Asian Markets Rise Amid Positive Sentiment

The Asia-Pacific markets also ended the week higher, following the strong performance of Wall Street. China extended its suspension of additional tariffs on U.S. goods for another 90 days, following President Donald Trump’s executive order to extend the tariff truce. Chinese markets, represented by the SHCOMP index, gained 1.6% over the week.

On the data front, China’s consumer prices remained steady in July 2025 compared to the previous year, defying expectations of a slight decline. Industrial production growth slowed in July, falling below forecasts, and retail sales decelerated more than anticipated.

Japan’s economy performed better than expected in the second quarter, with industrial production rebounding in June 2025. This marked the first increase since March and the fastest growth in four months. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 4.1% during the week.

Corporate News from Asia

Several key Asian companies reported notable results. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com surpassed market expectations for its quarterly revenue and earnings, indicating strong consumer spending driven by price reductions and government subsidies. Tencent posted robust second-quarter results, with revenue climbing 15% to 184.5 billion yuan ($25.7 billion), exceeding analyst expectations. Meanwhile, NetEase reported lower-than-expected growth for its key games unit and missed both top-line and bottom-line targets in its second-quarter earnings.

ETFs to Track Global Markets

For investors interested in tracking European markets, several ETFs are available, including:

• EWG (NYSEARCA)
• GF (NYSE)
• EWI (NYSEARCA)
• EWQ (NYSEARCA)
• FGM (NASDAQ)
• DAX (NASDAQ)
• FLGR (NYSEARCA)
• FXB (NYSEARCA)
• EWU (NYSEARCA)
• FKU (NASDAQ)
• EWUS (BATS)
• FLGB (NYSEARCA)
• GREK (NYSEARCA)

For those looking to track Asian and Oceania markets, the following ETFs are options:

• EWJ (NYSEARCA)
• JEQ (NYSE)
• FXI (NYSEARCA)
• PGJ (NASDAQ)
• EWH (NYSEARCA)
• DXJ (NYSEARCA)
• CAF (NYSE)
• FXY (NYSEARCA)
• YINN (NYSEARCA)
• YANG (NYSEARCA)
• CXSE (NASDAQ)
• KWEB (NYSEARCA)