More than 230 companies from Europe and beyond have joined the European Commission-led EU AI Pact, spanning sectors including IT, telecommunications, banking, healthcare, automotive, and aeronautics, with major participants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. These pledges reflect the Act’s forthcoming requirements by committing to AI governance frameworks, identifying and managing high-risk systems, improving AI literacy, strengthening human oversight and risk mitigation, and enhancing transparency around AI-generated content such as deepfakes. In market terms, the Pact is accelerating compliance by design as a near-term procurement standard, increasing demand for AI governance and assurance tools such as model inventory systems, documentation, monitoring, logging, and content traceability, while also favouring enterprise AI solutions that can be deployed in the EU with lower regulatory friction as enforcement phases in. This is a clear demand shift away from opaque or legally ambiguous deployments toward well-documented and trustworthy AI products and services, while catalysing rapid growth in compliance providers, auditors, and AI Act-ready platforms ahead of full enforcement in 2026.

EQUITY

Wall Street managed to hold two consecutive recovery sessions this week after last Thursday's slump on anti-AI trades that have been growing, though demand signals from tech earnings suggest otherwise. Payment processor Global Payments topped the chart after a blockbuster earnings since completing the Worldpay acquisition, while Palo Alto Networks choked on lower EPS guidance. A bizarre hedge fund turns attention to TOTO, a Japanese ceramic toilet maker, for AI memory production capabilities.

GOLD

Gold regained losses made on Tuesday as investors balanced ambiguous signals from the Fed against escalating geopolitical tensions. While the latest FOMC minutes revealed a split among officials regarding future rate cuts, fears of military conflict beyond conventional warfare are sustaining the metal's safe-haven appeal. Market direction now hinges on upcoming U.S. GDP and PCE data.

OIL

Brent crude price hovered above $70 with renewed posture between the U.S. and Iran. Market sentiment remains cautious with a "wait-and-see" approach, though analysts warn that any disruption to the Strait of Hormuz could drive prices toward $75. This geopolitical volatility is compounded by unexpected draws in U.S. crude inventories and stalled peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

CURRENCY

The US dollar rallied after Federal Reserve minutes revealed policymakers are in no rush to cut interest rates, with some even open to hikes if inflation proves sticky, though it would prove tricky. Major currencies faced mixed pressure, as the euro slipped on ECB leadership rumours and the yen weakened following new Japanese investment pledges to the U.S., while the New Zealand dollar suffered its steepest drop since April 2025 due to a cautious central bank stance.