The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, July 31, edition that optimism about trade deals, an artificial-intelligence-driven lift for technology shares and the prospect of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve have pushed U.S. stocks to all-time highs. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe quotes UBS Wealth analyst Anthi Tsouvali saying: "If we have to think till the year end, we're more positive on U.S. versus European stocks. A lot of the good news has already been priced in [in] Europe." Cheap valuations, Germany's big plans for spending on infrastructure and defence and a string of rate cuts from the European Central Bank boosted the appeal of European assets earlier this year. Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk, a market heavyweight, shed about 25 per cent in stock value after issuing a profit warning on Tuesday. However, signs of a resilient euro zone economy so far have investors betting that the European Central Bank is close to wrapping up its rate-cutting cycle. Traders see just a 50-per-cent chance of another reduction by December and a small chance that rates will actually start rising toward the end of 2026. European stocks also appear to have missed out on the big AI wave U.S. stocks are surfing.