Good evening, this is Markets Desk with your end-of-week briefing.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Saturday in a renewed push to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Both sides agreed to pause strikes on their capitals during talks, a fragile but notable gesture, though aerial attacks continued elsewhere, underscoring just how tenuous this diplomatic window remains.
Turning to equities, Nvidia delivered a quarter that nearly any other company would celebrate — revenue more than doubling, guidance raised, expectations beaten on both the top and bottom lines. And yet the stock has lagged its peers, suggesting Wall Street is now pricing in execution risk and competitive pressure at a level that raw growth numbers alone cannot overcome.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, France's presidential race has surfaced a proposal that sent a jolt through sovereign debt markets — a leading candidate openly suggesting the country simply cancel its national debt. France carries the eurozone's second largest economy, and any serious political momentum behind debt repudiation would ripple directly through European bond spreads and the euro itself.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
