European Shares Seen Flat To Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - European shares are seen opening a tad higher on Thursday following Wall Street's overnight rally, led by AI and semiconductor stocks.

However, U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq and S&P futures falling, after media reports suggested that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust its co-founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, who is facing new accusations of infidelity.

According to New York Times, Huang was allegedly in a relationship with Nvidia's vice president of health care, Kimberly Powe.

Over the weekend, Huang admitted to cheating on his wife with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy, prompting an independent investigation and sending shockwaves through the AI industry.

Amid lingering concerns surrounding data center spending and AI demand, investors may shift their attention to earnings from Applied Materials and Cisco, due after the U.S. closing bell later today. Nvidia, Walt Disney and Home Depot report their earnings results on November 17.

On the economic front, U.S. jobless claims and existing home sales data will be in the spotlight today ahead of Friday's report on producer prices.

New York Fed President John Williams is set to appear on a panel later today after several Federal Reserve officials noted that rate increases could accelerate.

Following a strong October employment report, a Fed hike on December 9 is seen as almost certain.

Asian markets were mostly lower as Nvidia faces a severe leadership and governance crisis.

Gold dipped 0.3 percent to $3,975 an ounce, hitting a more than one-week low as rate hike expectations boosted the U.S. dollar.

Brent crude futures fell below $92 a barrel after OPEC+ crude oil production jumped in October.

Saudi Arabia said its crude oil production climbed 26 percent in October to one of the highest monthly levels in years, helping ease global supply constraints.

A senior Iranian official rejected one of Washinton's key conditions for peace talks, stating that the country would not surrender "a single atom" of its enriched material.

Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator, has told AI Jazeera that Tehran is waiting for an official U.S. response to its seven conditions for ending war and that the Strait of Hormuz will "never return" to its status prior to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight as Nvidia shares rebounded after two straight sessions of sharp declines. Sentiment improved across AI infrastructure stocks as well, energized by CoreWeave's robust earnings report and Anthropic's potential $2 trillion IPO.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 1.3 percent and the narrower Dow rose half a percent.

European stocks set a fresh record on Wednesday, with investor sentiment underpinned by steadier oil prices, solid corporate earnings and renewed enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade.

The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.7 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.2 percent, France's CAC 40 surged 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent.