(The opinions expressed here are those of the author.)

By Anna Szymanski

LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and

global markets today

By Anna Szymanski, Editor-in-Charge, Reuters Open Interest

Oracle's skyrocketing share price lifted Asian equities on

Thursday, as AI enthusiasm shows no signs of abating. Meanwhile,

European markets remain in wait-and-see mode ahead of the

European Central Bank's rate decision later today. The focus

will be less on what the ECB does - which is expected to be

nothing - and more on what President Christine Lagarde says.

Investor attention will then turn once again to U.S. inflation

data, with a consumer price update due following a soft producer

price report yesterday. This is one of the last major data

releases before the Federal Reserve's meeting next week, and the

question now is not whether the central bank will cut but by how

much.

Mike is enjoying some well deserved time off, and will be

back with the Morning Bid next week.

Today's Market Minute

* Police and federal agents mounted an intense manhunt on

Thursday for the sniper believed to have fired the single

gunshot that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he was

fielding questions about gun violence during a university

appearance.

* Protesters across France obstructed highways, burned

barricades and clashed sporadically with police on Wednesday in

a show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron, the political

elite and planned spending cuts.

* Klarna (KLAR.N) shares jumped 30% in their hotly anticipated

New York debut, valuing the Swedish fintech at $19.65 billion,

ending the company's years-long wait for a listing and

underscoring a rebound in the broader U.S. IPO market.

* The global crude oil market is facing two long-term

fundamental shifts that will change how cargoes flow around the

world and how they are priced, writes ROI columnist Clyde

Russell.

* The dollar has been beaten down this year amid rising

expectations for Fed easing, but ROI markets columnist Jamie

McGeever argues that even if lower nominal rates are already

reflected in the greenback's price, lower 'real' rates may not

be.

Another day, another AI record

Oracle (ORCL.N) shares skyrocketed around 40% on Wednesday, its

biggest one-day percentage jump since 1992, after the

company announced four multi-billion-dollar contracts on

Tuesday. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison saw his fortune rise by

about $100 billion to around $392.6 billion, according to

Forbes. The cloud service firm's surge boosted Asian tech stocks

on Thursday, pushing indices in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to

fresh highs.

European shares edged up modestly early on Thursday, as with the

STOXX 600 rising modestly as investors await the ECB's decision.

Most economists expect no change in policy, but ECB President

Christine Lagarde's remarks will be closely watched for signals

about future easing amid the ongoing trade and geopolitical

tensions. The ECB cut its key policy rate to 2% in the year

through June but has been on hold ever since, arguing that the

20-country euro zone economy is in a "good place". Lagarde is

likely to keep the door open for further rate cuts, especially

since inflation is expected to temporarily dip below the ECB's

2% target next year, supporting market bets that a final

"insurance" cut could come around the turn of the year.

The dollar steadied during Asian trading and gold continued to

hover near record highs after an unexpected drop in U.S.

producer prices on Wednesday reinforced bets for a Fed rate cut

next week. The U.S. Producer Price Index fell 0.1% during

August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said

on Wednesday. This followed a 0.7% jump in July, which was

revised downwards. Traders are essentially certain there will be

at least a 25 basis point cut at the Fed meeting next week, with

a slim chance for a 50 bps move. U.S. CPI data due later today

is expected to show a 0.3% monthly rise and 2.9% annual

increase. While a weaker print could fuel bets for a larger cut,

the report would have to be very hot indeed to shake up easing

expectations.

Chart of the day

Oracle (ORCL.N) shares surged more than 40% to hit a record

high on Wednesday, putting the company on track to join the

trillion-dollar club. The company unveiled four

multi-billion-dollar contracts on Tuesday, amid an industry-wide

shift to spend aggressively to stay ahead in the AI race.

* ECB interest rate decision (8:15 AM ET)

* U.S. CPI for August (8:30 AM ET)

* U.S. weekly jobless claims (8:30 AM ET)

* U.S. 30-year Treasury bond auction (1:00 PM ET)

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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

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