Finance Evening: Oil Tops $100, Mortgage Rates Cross 7%, ECB Hikes to 2.5%

📊 Today's North American Markets

1. Oracle beats estimates as cloud infrastructure revenue doubles

Source: CNBC

Oracle shares climbed in extended trading Thursday after the software maker reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results. In the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31, revenue grew nearly 30% year over year, while net income reached $4.68 billion, or $1.56 per share, up from $2.93 billion, or $1.01 per share, a year earlier.

Cloud was the standout: quarterly cloud revenue jumped 62% to $11.61 billion, with cloud infrastructure revenue more than doubling to $7.4 billion, above the $7.09 billion analysts expected. The company guided to adjusted earnings of $1.85 to $1.93 per share for the current quarter.

Rapid expansion is also stretching its finances. Oracle now carries $125 billion in debt, and capital spending soared to $28.5 billion from $8.5 billion a year earlier. The company said it signed more than $30 billion in additional AI contracts during the quarter.

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2. Nasdaq invests $100 million in Kraken parent

Source: CNBC

Nasdaq's venture capital arm said Thursday it is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, as the two partner to launch tokenized equities in 2027. The investment values the company at $21 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The partners expect to launch tokenized equities in the second quarter of 2027 and build the market infrastructure and surveillance technology to support them. Payward will also adopt Nasdaq's market-surveillance technology across its trading venues.

Nasdaq president Tal Cohen said expanding the relationship with Payward reflects the company's conviction in its role building market infrastructure. The deal comes as Wall Street pushes tokenized securities into the mainstream.

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3. Ford announces $1 billion investment at Kentucky plant

Source: CNBC

Ford Motor on Thursday announced a $1 billion investment to build a new paint shop at its Kentucky Truck Plant, the facility the automaker calls its most important and profitable plant globally. It produces F-250 to F-550 Super Duty trucks as well as the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

The announcement came two days after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed "profound concern" about Ford's ties to Chinese companies. Ford called the comments a "wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines."

Ford said the new shop will replace the plant's existing paint shop and further modernize the operation, with groundbreaking expected later this year. CEO Jim Farley said the investments reflect the company's confidence in Kentucky's workforce and its commitment to American manufacturing.

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4. Oil tops $100, Brent briefly above $108

Source: NBC News

Oil prices surged again Thursday as Middle East tensions escalated. Brent crude briefly topped $108 a barrel for the first time since May, while U.S. WTI crude climbed above $102, its highest since mid-May. Brent settled at $107.63, up 6.3% on the day.

The rise is flowing through to consumers. The national average gasoline price rose another 5 cents overnight to $4.27, while diesel rose 4 cents to $5.98.

Analysts said the move reflects a market still pricing in persistent geopolitical risk. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to its lowest level since the 1980s, while Saudi Arabia reportedly told OPEC its August output dropped to the lowest since 1990, deepening supply worries.

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5. Odds of a Fed rate hike next week jump

Source: CNBC

Traders sharply raised bets Thursday that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates next week, after a rise in August wholesale prices and a jump in crude oil above $100 a barrel. The CME Group's FedWatch gauge put the odds of a hike at about 70% in morning trading.

The producer price index, a measure of wholesale and pipeline cost pressures, rose 0.4% in August. While in line with forecasts, it followed an upwardly revised July reading and pushed annual PPI to 5.4%, slightly above expectations.

LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach said inflation pressures are becoming "increasingly entrenched" as the Iran conflict drags on longer than expected, adding that "at this rate, a hike in rates next week appears likely."

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6. ECB raises rates to 2.5% as inflation proves sticky

Source: Sina Finance

The European Central Bank's governing council voted Thursday to raise its deposit rate by 25 basis points, from 2.25% to 2.5%, the latest step in its tightening cycle.

The ECB said the economic outlook is highly uncertain, with upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth, while also raising its inflation forecasts for the next two years.

Eurozone inflation rose to 3.3% in August, with energy prices surging 14.3%. The ECB projects core inflation, excluding energy and food, at 2.5% in 2026 and 2.6% in 2027 — both above its 2% target. Several analysts expect further rate hikes ahead.

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7. 30-year mortgage rate tops 7% for first time in over a year

Source: CNBC

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage crossed 7% on Thursday, hitting 7.07%, its first time above that mark since May 2025, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is up 10 basis points from Wednesday.

Mortgage rates loosely follow the 10-year Treasury yield, which rose again Thursday as oil prices surged. Rates have climbed steadily since the Iran war began, after hitting a low of 5.99% the day before it started.

The impact on buyers is immediate. For a $430,000 home with a 20% down payment, a buyer's monthly principal and interest payment is now $244 higher than it was at the end of February.

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8. U.S. existing-home sales slowest in over a year

Source: The Guardian

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 2% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday — the slowest pace in more than a year and the third straight monthly decline.

Even as sales slowed, prices kept climbing. The national median home price rose 1.6% from a year earlier to $429,100, an all-time high for August, marking the 38th consecutive month of annual gains.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said mortgage rates have risen steadily since February, damping demand. At the end of August, inventory reached 1.62 million unsold homes, a 4.9-month supply at the current sales pace — the highest in over 10 years.

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9. Kalshi wins approval to list gold and silver perpetual futures

Source: CNBC

Prediction-market platform Kalshi won approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this week to list perpetual futures tied to gold and silver, with the new markets launching Thursday.

Perpetual futures, known as "perps," have no expiration and don't require investors to own the underlying asset. Kalshi first won approval for crypto perpetuals in late May; the precious-metals contracts are its first non-crypto offering.

Kalshi Klear chief risk officer Udesh Jha said gold and silver "have a story to tell because of inflation." The company is also seeking approval for contracts tied to U.S. equities, copper and currencies.

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10. Trump administration partners with OpenAI to equip federal workers

Source: Fox Business

The Trump administration has reached an agreement with OpenAI to equip government employees with the most advanced AI models at a major discount, Fox News Digital has learned. The federal government will receive a 50% discount on OpenAI's most advanced models with no minimum spending requirement.

The deal, secured by the General Services Administration through its new OneGov procurement strategy, also lets state, local and tribal governments use the same models at the same discount. It centers on data protection and governance, restricting model access to FedRAMP-authorized environments.

GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said the agreement provides a secure, governmentwide framework to adopt AI at scale. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said giving public servants secure access to the best AI tools can boost efficiency and strengthen cybersecurity.

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