New York (AFP) – Stock markets were mixed Monday as a deepening political crisis in France sent Paris into a tailspin while a new Japanese ruling party leader boosted Tokyo and the AI investment boom lifted US stock indices to fresh heights. Gold pushed ever closer to $4,000 an ounce as the US government shutdown and expected interest cuts from the Federal Reserve boosted the precious metal’s lure.
The euro fell against main rivals and French borrowing costs spiked as Sebastien Lecornu, who had been prime minister for less than a month, resigned just 14 hours after naming a largely unchanged cabinet. But in another twist, French President Emmanuel Macron held new talks with Lecornu in the evening and gave him two days to reach a plan for the country’s “stability,” the president’s office said. Paris finished down 1.4 percent. Shares in French banks BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole all shed more than three percent. London also dipped, but Frankfurt’s stock exchange ended the day flat.
On Wall Street, both the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged to fresh records after Advanced Micro Devices announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI to develop AI data centers, sending AMD shares up more than 23 percent. The OpenAI venture with AMD marks the latest massive deal for the fast-growing artificial intelligence startup that has left markets buzzing.
“Very few questions are being asked about how OpenAI is actually going to pay for this commitment that they’re making to AMD,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. “This company has literally hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments, but still only has annualized revenues of about $12 billion,” Sosnick said of OpenAI. “The market is taking any piece of news as purely good news.” Tesla also had a good day, rising 5.5 percent on buzz over a possible product launch after Elon Musk’s company posted videos teasing a Tuesday announcement.
In Asia, Tokyo surged almost five percent to a record high and the yen sank on bets the new leader of Japan’s ruling party will loosen monetary policy to kickstart the economy. Sanae Takaichi, likely to become Japan’s prime minister this month, has previously backed aggressive monetary easing and expanded government spending. Traders are “enthused by the new Japanese leader, who promises to reignite stimulus to light a fire under the Japanese economy,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG. The yen weakened more than one percent against the dollar and hit a record low against the euro. Yields on 30-year Japanese bonds rose sharply reflecting fears the country’s already colossal debt will balloon further.
After her victory Saturday, Takaichi pledged first to implement measures to address inflation and boost Japan’s economy, rural areas, and primary industries. “She has said that the Bank of Japan should not raise interest rates, which is feeding demand for stocks and weighing on long term bond yield,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. “The decline in the yen is also a sign that the market is pricing out the prospect of BoJ rate hikes this year,” she added.
– Key figures at around 2015 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 46,694.97 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,740.28 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 22,941.67 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,479.14 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,971.78 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,378.29 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 4.8 percent at 47,944.76 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 26,957.77 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1713 from $1.1742 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3485 from $1.3480
Dollar/yen: UP at 150.24 yen from 147.47 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.86 pence from 87.10 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $61.69 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $65.47 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
