AI bosses commit to "self-policing" at Trump meeting

30. Sep 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - European equities are called higher ahead of the European Central Bank's non-monetary policy meeting later today.

Here is what you need to know before the European market open on Wednesday:

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MARKETS

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CAC 40: called up 43.5 points, 0.5%, at 8,079.37

DAX 40: called up 160.7 points, 0.6%, at 26,559.91

FTSE 100: called up 64.7 points, 0.6%, at 10,701.41

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Hang Seng: down 0.1% at 24,503.64

Nikkei 225: up 1.6% at 66,539.30

S&P/ASX 200: up 0.8% at 8,774.60

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DJIA: closed down 131.59 points, 0.3%, at 51,349.92

S&P 500: closed down 12.85 points, 0.2%, to 7,670.84

Nasdaq Composite: closed down 22.84 points, 0.1%, at 26,797.54

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US 10-year Treasury yield: 5.24% (5.29%)

US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.57% (5.60%)

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EUR: lower at USD1.1332 (USD1.1335)

GBP: higher at USD1.3226 (USD1.3210)

USD: lower at JPY156.86 (JPY157.59)

gold: higher at USD4,173.23 per ounce (USD4,157.46)

oil (Brent): lower at USD96.46 a barrel (USD104.44)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMIC CALENDAR

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09:00 CEST eurozone ECB non-monetary policy meeting

08:45 CEST France PPI

08:00 CEST Germany export and import prices

08:00 CEST Germany retail sales

09:55 CEST Germany unemployment

11:00 IST Ireland unemployment

10:00 CEST Italy consumer confidence

08:00 SAST South Africa money supply

11:30 SAST South Africa PPI

14:00 SAST South Africa trade balance

10:00 CEST Spain current account

10:00 CEST Switzerland economic sentiment index

07:00 BST UK GDP

07:00 BST UK business investment

07:00 BST UK current account

08:15 EDT US ADP unemployment

08:30 EDT US GDP

08:30 EDT US personal consumption expenditures

08:30 EDT US quarterly personal consumption expenditures

08:30 EDT US wholesale inventories

09:45 EDT US Chicago PMI

10:30 EDT US EIA crude oil stocks

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TOP ECONOMIC NEWS

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US President Donald Trump said the tech executives gathered at the White House to discuss regulating artificial intelligence had signed a "morally binding" commitment to build adequate safeguards on the fast-moving technology. "They're going to police themselves," Trump said after the meeting that gathered the top leaders in AI, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, OpenAI's Greg Brockman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei. Trump said the tech bosses had signed a deal that would put on paper their commitment to self-regulate in a morally binding agreement that would not be legally enforceable. But the final document, dubbed the White House Accord, left the door open "to codify these steps into laws or regulations" if it made sense over time. Speaking to reporters outside the Oval Office surrounded by the world's most powerful tech titans, Trump also confirmed he would officially rename the technology "super intelligence" instead of artificial intelligence, "because it's not artificial." Hours later he released an executive order in which he says the terms super intelligence and SI shall be used by the federal government whenever possible, because "'Super Intelligence' more appropriately captures the promise, potential and rapidly advancing capabilities of these technologies."

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Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US officials in Washington on Monday for talks about future US-Russia energy projects planned after Moscow's war against Ukraine. Kirill Dmitriev and US officials held "constructive discussions on a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and possible US-Russia energy initiatives after the war ends," a US government official said. "The visit follows Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's recent meeting with President [Vladimir] Putin in Moscow and their discussions last week with Ukrainian officials in NYC," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The latest talks came amid intensified daytime Russian strikes on Kyiv using jet-powered drones that Ukrainian forces are struggling to intercept.

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Industrial production in Japan grew at a slower pace in August, while retail sales also saw slower growth, the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry reported. Preliminary figures show that industrial production grew 3.4% on an annual basis in August, slowing from 3.9% growth in July. Month-on-month, industrial output fell 1.7% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the second consecutive decline in output. Industrial production fell 0.2% in July. Separate data from METI showed that Japanese retail sales rose 2.7% annually in August, slowing from an increase of 3.7% in July, and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 3.3%. On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 1.2% in August, compared to a 2.1% increase in July.

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Business activity in China expanded in September as new business continued to rise, S&P Global and China's National Bureau of Statistics both reported. The RatingDog China composite purchasing managers' index rose to 52.4 points in September, from 52.1 points in August. The rate of growth was the strongest seen in the last three months but remained below the average for 2026 so far. The China NBS composite PMI rose to 50.7 points in September, from 49.5 points in August, marking the highest reading since December last year. A reading above the 50.0-point neutral mark indicates an overall increase in business activity from the previous month, while a reading below signals a contraction.

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised greater public control over essential services as he vowed to reverse decades of privatisation during an emotional first speech to his Labour party's annual gathering as leader. The 56-year-old former mayor of Manchester - in office for just 10 weeks - choked back tears as he spoke about his late father and detailed his long-term ambitions to establish free social care, reform the UK's electoral system and controversially adjust pensions."I accept people will not agree with every part of it, but I believe it can turn Britain around," Burnham told a packed audience in Liverpool, who punctuated his hour-long address with numerous standing ovations. "I won't pretend some of this won't be difficult. I accept I may pay a political price. But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off. It's the leadership I promised you when I asked to be your leader," he said. Burnham has re-energised the centre-left party since members of parliament parachuted him into Downing Street in July after ending Keir Starmer's two-year premiership, which was dominated by numerous domestic policy missteps and infighting after Labour won the 2024 general election.

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Australia's inflation rate accelerated in August, with housing and transport among the key contributors, official data showed. According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the consumer price index rose 4.0% in the 12 months to August, accelerating from a 3.5% year-on-year increase in July. The reading for August matched the consensus forecast cited by FXStreet. Key contributors to inflation were housing with a 5.7% increase, followed by transport at 5.6% and alcohol and tobacco at 4.8%. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 3.0%. The index edged up 0.4% month-on-month in August, matching the forecast and slowing from a 1.0% rise in July. The CPI indicator measures the price change of a basket of goods and services bought by Australian households across retailers in the eight capital cities.

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COMPANY CALENDAR

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Ameren Corp - dividend payment date

Ampol Ltd - dividend payment date

Ansys Inc - annual investors day

Antofagasta PLC - dividend payment date

Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd - dividend payment date

Conagra Brands Inc - Q1 results

Crown Castle Inc - dividend payment date

Digital Realty Trust Inc - dividend payment date

Extra Space Storage Inc - dividend payment date

Factset Research Systems Inc - half year results

Future PLC - trading statement

Genuit Group PLC - dividend payment date

Greggs PLC - trading statement

HICL Infrastructure PLC - dividend payment date

Imperial Brands PLC - dividend payment date

Leidos Holdings Inc - dividend payment date

Martin Marietta Materials Inc - dividend payment date

Micron Technology Inc - full year results

M&T Bank Corp - dividend payment date

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc - dividend payment date

Rathbones Group PLC - dividend payment date

Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd - dividend payment date

SSE PLC - trading statement

Synopsys Inc - annual investors day

TotalEnergies SE - ex-dividend date

Vistra Corp - dividend payment date

Western Union Co - dividend payment date

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TOP COMPANY NEWS

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Boeing said the US Navy has awarded a "multi-billion-dollar" contract to deliver the F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter aircraft, beating rival Northrop Grumman Corp. The contract is the Arlington, Virginia-based aerospace company's second selection for a sixth-generation fighter aircraft after Boeing was awarded the US Air Force's F-47 programme in 2025. The F/A-XX will replace the US Navy's ageing fleet of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets. "Backed by decades of work, bolstered by game-changing innovations and solidified by the investments we've made in new facilities uniquely suited to build multiple products with next generation capabilities, our dedicated and talented team is ready to execute this critical program," said Steve Parker, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Boeing said the technical and programmatic details for the F/A-XX remain classified under US national security and export laws.

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American Airlines announced its intention for Alaska Airlines to join its Atlantic and Pacific joint businesses. American is an airline based in Fort Worth, Texas, while Alaska is a Seattle, Washington-based firm. The Atlantic and Pacific joint businesses are revenue-sharing and route-coordination partnerships. "Joining these joint businesses would put Alaska on equal footing with its competitors by giving our guests more seamless access to international destinations while preserving the care, loyalty benefits and premium experience they expect from Alaska," said Alaska's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison. Formed in 2010, the Atlantic Joint Business encompasses several airlines including British Airways and Iberia, both of which are owned by London-headquartered International Consolidated Airlines. The Pacific Joint Businesses was established shortly after between American and Tokyo-based Japan Airlines.

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Salesforce said it has struck a deal to buy artificial intelligence-powered customer research and human simulation platform, Listen Labs. The San Francisco, California-based enterprise software company said the deal will expand its customer and user understanding capabilities, complementing Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, and its broader AI portfolio. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce's financial year 2027, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. San Francisco-based Listen Labs is an AI-powered market research platform that automates customer interviews, participant recruitment, and data analysis to deliver consumer insights in hours instead of week.

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Workday said it is cutting around 500 jobs, and exiting office space, to better align with its strategic growth priorities. The Pleasanton, California-based cloud-based provider of financial management, human capital management, and student information system software said it is axing 2.5% of its workforce which according to its website totals 20,000. The job cuts will primarily be within Workday's Product & Technology team. In addition, it plans select leased office space reductions. The reorganisation is designed to "better align team structures with Workday's strategic growth priorities," the firm said. It plans to continue to hire in key strategic areas and locations throughout its financial 2027. Relating to the restructuring, Workday will incur around USD65 million to USD80 million in charges, of which USD55 million to USD70 million is expected to be recognised in the third quarter of financial 2027, and USD10 million in the fourth quarter. The employee reductions are expected to be completed by the first quarter of financial 2028 with the leased office space exits sealed by the fourth quarter of financial 2027.

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By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter

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