European markets set to open lower as French political upheaval drags on

Opening calls

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 8 points lower at 8,341 on Friday morning, while the German DAX index is slated to lose 24 points at the opening, according to IG, bringing it down to 20,334.

Meanwhile, IG is predicting that the CAC 40 will open around 8 points lower at 7,322.

— Chloe Taylor

CNBC Pro: Top picks for 2025: Stocks from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia among Macquarie’s favorites — all with more than 50% upside

Macquarie has named several Asian companies as its top picks for 2025, with predicted gains ranging from 50% to over 80% in their share prices.

The selection spans multiple sectors including technology, automotive, defense, and power utilities, reflecting the investment bank’s positive view on these industries for the coming year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

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Brent oil price near 0 again with U.S.-Iran talks uncertain and Hormuz still blocked

World

Brent oil price near $100 again with U.S.-Iran talks uncertain and Hormuz still blocked

April 16, 2026

Crude oil prices neared $100 again on Thursday, as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains very low with no clear pathway to fully reopen the vital sea lane. International benchmark Brent for June delivery surged nearly 5% to close at $99.39 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May rose almost 4% to […]

World

Israel and Lebanon agree to 10-day ceasefire, Trump says

April 16, 2026

The leaders of Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire after officials from the two countries met in Washington, President Donald Trump said Thursday. The temporary truce will start at 5 p.m. ET, Trump said in a Truth Social post. In a follow-up, Trump added that he will be inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin […]

World

Anthropic rolls out Claude Opus 4.7, an AI model that is less risky than Mythos

April 16, 2026

Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic, at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Ruhani Kaur | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic on Thursday announced a new artificial intelligence model, Claude Opus 4.7, which the company said is an improvement over past models but is “less broadly capable” […]