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Linda Yaccarino’s exit as chief executive officer of X follows a long and contentious effort to win over advertisers dismayed by the platform’s direction under Elon Musk’s ownership.

Her departure paves the way for X to lean harder into a new identity as a source of data for artificial intelligence training, supporting xAI’s chatbot Grok, and spend less time and attention on wooing advertisers who may be skittish about their messages appearing alongside potentially damaging content.

X, previously known as Twitter, has long been dependent on advertising for the majority of its revenue. Before Musk’s takeover in 2022, advertising made up roughly 92% of total revenue at the company. The main part of Yaccarino’s job since she was hired in 2023 has been to convince advertisers that X is a safe place to market their brand and spend their money.

Bank of America expects firmer inflation on the horizon. “We expect inflation to accelerate over the coming months in large part due to tariff-related price increases,” wrote economist Stephen Juneau. “But tariffs aren’t the only reason to expect firmer inflation in the coming months; the rebound in stock prices is another.”

More specifically, the economist pointed out that the recent rebound in equity prices means that portfolio management fees should turn into a driver of inflation in the upcoming months.

The highest-ranking military officer of the US visited Seoul for talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts as President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on his Asian allies over defense spending and trade.

General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with South Korea’s Admiral Kim Myung-soo in Seoul on Thursday, Kim’s office said. The two military leaders will be joined by Japan’s General Yoshihide Yoshida for a trilateral meeting on Friday.

“They will assess the implementation of security cooperation among the three nations and discuss ways to further development and maintain the momentum of collaboration,” the South Korean military said in a statement. Yoshida is the highest-ranking Japanese military officer to visit South Korea in 15 years, it added.

Indonesian telecommunications tower company PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi is considering reviving a merger with rival PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure, people familiar with the matter said, which would mark the second such attempt in a decade.

The companies, both listed in Jakarta, have held early talks with prospective advisers about the merits of a potential combination that could create an entity worth about 90 trillion rupiah ($5.5 billion), the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

Shares of Dayamitra, known as Mitratel, have fallen about 17% this year, giving it a market value of roughly 45 trillion rupiah. Tower Bersama’s stock has dropped about 4%, valuing it at 45.8 trillion rupiah.

Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG have begun early pricing discussions with investors for a $4.25 billion debt package to help finance Sycamore Partners’ buyout of UK pharmacy Boots, according to people familiar with the matter.

The package is now being pre-marketed in multiple parts, as Bloomberg News previously reported: $2.25 billion in term loans and $2 billion in secured bonds, across different denominations.

Bankers are pitching a $750 million term loan at 400 to 425 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate and a discounted price of 99 cents on the dollar, said the people who were not authorised to speak publicly.

The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) dropped more than 1.8% in the premarket after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded by saying his country will respond with similar tariffs targeting US products going into Brazil.

Asia markets closed mostly mixed on Thursday.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.44% to close at 39,646.36, while the Topix declined 0.56% to end the trading day at 2,812.34.

South Korea’s Kospi added 1.58% to 3,183.23 and the small-cap Kosdaq closed 0.93% higher at 797.7.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.59% to end the day at 8,589.2.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.47% to 4,010.02.

JPMorgan is turning more positive on Vietnam stocks after the country’s trade deal announcement with the US, upgrading its position to overweight. This comes after Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian nation to strike a tariff deal with the US at a 20% rate.

South Korea’s central bank held its policy rate at 2.5%, keeping it steady at an almost three-year low.

South Korea’s economy contracted by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of this year due to weak construction activity and softening export growth, while it remained flat on an year on year basis.

A delegation from India is expected to visit the US soon for trade talks, according to a Reuters report. India is among the few countries that are still negotiating a trade deal with Washington, as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war with the threat of sharply higher tariffs from August 1.

Investors are awaiting more developments on the economic front, as jobless claims data for the week ending July 5 is due out Thursday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting an increase of 2,000 to 235,000 from the previous week.

European market sentiment is bright on Thursday morning, with the regional Stoxx 600 index up 0.5% and most sectors in the green.

It comes as investors digest a slew of US tariff updates — though not yet one for the European Union, as negotiators scramble to strike a framework trade agreement.

Mining stocks are leading gains on the Stoxx 600, with the sector up 3.4%, lifting the UK’s FTSE 100 above a record intraday high set in March.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the 50% tariff on copper imports, which he had announced the previous day, will take effect on August 1.

The decision was made after he received a national security assessment, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper, effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT,” Trump wrote.

Futures on Wall Street slipped early Thursday. The Dow futures are down 107 points, whereas the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are down 0.25% and 0.29%, respectively in trading.

US stock futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday evening. S&P 500 futures hovered around the flatline just after 6 pm ET, as did Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were likewise flat.NewsLive TVMarketPopular CategoriesCalculatorsTrending NowLet's Connect with CNBCTV 18Network 18 Group :©TV18 Broadcast Limited. All rights reserved.