London (AFP) – Wall Street stocks moved higher on Friday as investors welcomed strong earnings reports by Amazon and Apple. But Europe and Asian stock markets mostly fell at the end of a fluctuating week as traders reacted to company earnings, central bank decisions, and a tentative US-China trade truce. Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, with bloated AI spending by Meta reviving worries among investors.
Sentiment was boosted after Wall Street closed for trading as Amazon reported earnings that were better than expected, driven by surging demand for its cloud computing services. Apple posted quarterly sales that beat estimates, powered by iPhone and services revenue. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5 percent at the open of trading. Amazon shares soared more than 11 percent and shares in Apple climbed by 0.7 percent. “Investors remain bullish thanks to strong gains across tech and semiconductor stocks driven by optimism over the future of artificial intelligence,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.
Europe and Asian stock markets mostly fell as traders reacted to company earnings, central bank decisions, and the US-China trade truce. Mid-week comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have cast doubt over another cut to US interest rates in December. “The main culprit (for Friday’s losses) was uncertainty about the future policy of the Federal Reserve,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. “The negative response to Meta’s bloated AI spending also contributed to …selling, although US futures paint a brighter picture off the back of a surge in Amazon’s shares,” he added.
Shares in AI chipmaker Nvidia gained 2.1 percent after it said on Friday it would supply 260,000 of its most cutting-edge chips to South Korea. Investor confidence in artificial intelligence lifted markets at the start of the week, pushing Nvidia to become the first firm with a $5 trillion market value and sending several stock markets to record highs. Sentiment was further boosted by a detente in the US-China trade war that has shaken global markets, though momentum faded as the two sides stopped short of producing a signed agreement.
While the Fed on Wednesday cut interest rates as expected, Powell’s follow-up comments that another reduction by the end of the year was not guaranteed dampened sentiment as investors had been expecting another cut at the US central bank meeting in December. The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan held their rates steady Thursday. The ECB’s stance was reinforced by data Friday showing inflation eased closer to the central bank’s two-percent target in October.
European stocks slipped in Friday afternoon trading. In Asia, Tokyo’s main benchmark gained more than two percent on Friday while Seoul added half a percent, with both reaching record closes. Japan’s climb came despite a plunge in Nissan shares after the auto giant said it expected to suffer an operating loss in its current fiscal year ending in March.
– Key figures at around 1330 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 47,546.94 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 6,872.70
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 23,937.30
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 9,726.62
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,126.28
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 at 24,000.24
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.1 percent at 52,411.34 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 25,906.65 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,954.79 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1550 from $1.1564 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3105 from $1.3142
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.09 yen from 154.06 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.13 from 87.98 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $61.03 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $64.80 per barrel
burs-rl/tw
© 2024 AFP
