Evening digest: Intel soars on Apple hopes, China pressures the UK, India’s growth beats forecasts

A big tech bounce, rising geopolitical tensions, and fresh economic momentum shaped the day’s headlines.

Intel led markets higher after hopes grew that it could soon win Apple’s chip business, while China pressed the UK to reaffirm its stance on Taiwan amid regional frictions.

India delivered another blowout growth print, reinforcing its status as the fastest-growing major economy. And in crypto, CoinShares pulled back several US ETFs as it refocuses its strategy for a tougher market.

A glance at the major developments on Friday.

Intel gains on Apple hopes

Intel’s stock jumped more than 10% on Friday, landing at about $40.62, its biggest pop in months.

The excitement came after analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Intel is looking more likely to win Apple’s business for building entry-level M-series chips starting in mid-2027.

If that happens, Intel would be making chips for devices like the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro, with an estimated 15–20 million units shipping each year.

That would be a huge credibility boost for Intel Foundry Services as it continues trying to claw its way back and compete with TSMC.

For Apple, the move would spread out its supply chain and fit nicely with the “Made in USA” priorities under President Trump.

And for Intel, it adds another piece to the company’s turnaround story, even if it’s still behind some rivals on the tech front.

China urges the UK on Taiwan

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi pressed the UK to stick to the “one-China” principle during a meeting in Beijing with Britain’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell on Friday.

His message comes at a tense moment, as Beijing is already locked in a growing diplomatic spat with Japan over Taiwan.

China keeps insisting that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of one country, something Taiwan flatly rejects.

During the meeting, Wang pushed for the UK and China to keep up their “strategic dialogue” and coordinate more closely, and he also brought up the situation in Ukraine.

Overall, the appeal shows how determined China is to shore up international backing on what it considers its most important issue: Taiwan.

India’s growth surges again

India’s economy came in hot for Q2 FY26 (July–September), posting 8.2% GDP growth, its fastest pace in a year and a half.

That beat pretty much everyone’s expectations, from the RBI’s 7% forecast to economists’ estimates of around 7.3%.

Manufacturing was a standout, jumping 9.1% compared to just 2.2% a year ago. Financial services also had a huge quarter, growing 10.2%, helped by festive-season stock-ups and recent GST cuts.

Private consumption was strong too, rising 7.9%, though government spending pulled back a bit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the numbers as proof that pro-growth reforms are paying off, especially as India faces pressure from new US tariffs.

With this momentum, growth for the first half of FY26 now averages a solid 8%, keeping India in the lead as the fastest-growing major economy.

CoinShares resets US strategy

CoinShares announced on Friday that it’s shutting down a few of its US crypto ETFs, including the Bitcoin Futures Leveraged (BTFX) fund, as it reshapes its lineup ahead of a bigger push into the US market.

Instead of rolling out more single-asset products, the company is shifting its focus toward higher-margin ideas, like crypto-related equities and broader, diversified products over the next year or so.

The ETFs that are being closed, including those under CoinShares Valkyrie, are expected to be liquidated around December 16.

For Europe’s biggest digital-asset manager, this is essentially a strategic reset while the US crypto market waits for its next wave of innovation, especially at a time when bitcoin ETFs have been seeing steady outflows.

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