European Stocks Near Record as Dollar Nears 19-Month High
European stocks held near record highs on Friday, November 13, 2026, as Nvidia chief Jensen Huang's resignation failed to rattle markets. The dollar climbed toward a 19-month high on bets of a bigger Federal Reserve rate hike in December, while oil headed for a second weekly drop.
European stocks near record highs held steady on Friday, November 13, 2026, after a week dominated by Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese spy. The dollar, meanwhile, stayed close to a 19-month high on the possibility of a bigger-than-expected US Federal Reserve rate hike in December.
Europe's Stoxx 600, which hit a record high in the previous session, was up by less than 0.1% at 1015 GMT. It was on track for a weekly gain. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.2%, and Germany's DAX gained less than 0.1%.
The MSCI World Equity Index slipped by less than 0.1%.
Huang's exit fails to shake markets
Huang resigned as CEO of the American chipmaker on Thursday. His departure could carry far-reaching consequences for US chip export policy and the wider artificial intelligence industry and supply chain, given his push to keep access to the Chinese market and his close ties with US President Donald Trump.
The US Justice Department said it does not know whether the Chinese businesswoman at the center of the scandal was a spy.
AI-related shares in China fell after the resignation. Indices in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea gained overnight as traders shrugged off worries about the impact on the global AI boom.
"The AI technology boom is not about one individual," said Tristan Hanson, multi-asset fund manager at M&G. He called the news "important" and said investors will have to watch how it develops.
Dollar and yields rise on Fed bets
The US dollar index stood at 103.19, after earlier touching its highest since April 2025. Traders are raising bets that the Fed could deliver a 50 basis point hike in December. Investors now see a 12% chance of that move, up from zero a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
US inflation data on Tuesday showed a third consecutive month of rising food and accommodation costs. Remarks from some Fed officials were seen as hawkish. The two-year US Treasury yield hit a one-month high.
European government bond yields also rose, with the German 10-year yield at 3.3668%. The euro was flat at $1.1054.
Hanson said further rate hikes "might look a bit hasty". He expects some inflation drivers, including the oil shock, to ease in future.
Oil heads for second weekly decline
Oil prices were on course for a second straight weekly fall after a volatile week. Early hopes for a rapprochement in the US-Israeli war on Iran were offset by strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and attacks on tankers carrying crude out of the Gulf.
Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to $95.45 a barrel. US crude eased 0.8% to $88.04 a barrel. Spot gold gained 0.5% to $3,897.36 an ounce.
Separately, Microsoft said its Outlook, Teams and Copilot services were down. The outage disrupted trading firms and delayed some companies publishing their results.
