London (AFP) – Most stock markets rallied on Thursday after strong earnings from chip titan Nvidia eased fears of an AI bubble. Investors’ attention turned to the delayed US September jobs report, due later in the day, for clues about the outlook for interest rates. London, Paris, and Frankfurt all advanced after a largely positive session in Asia. Japan surged around three percent, while Hong Kong ended flat and Shanghai closed slightly lower.
Global equities have struggled recently on warnings that tech valuations may be due for a pullback after this year’s record-breaking rally. But Wednesday’s report from AI bellwether Nvidia topped expectations on fierce demand for its advanced chips, with chief executive Jensen Huang brushing off fears of a bubble. “Nvidia’s results have completely changed the market mood and pushed out any bubble fears for another day,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank. Shares in the firm, which last month became the world’s first $5 trillion stock, rose more than five percent in post-market trade, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also soared.
Tech stocks led the gains in Asia. South Korea’s Samsung and SK hynix, Taiwan’s TSMC, and Japanese investment giant SoftBank all enjoyed a strong day. However, SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes warned: “This is still a market balancing on a wire stretched between AI euphoria and debt-filled reality.” The upbeat report helped counterbalance minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October policy meeting, which suggested officials are against cutting rates for the third time in a row next month. A run of soft labor market reports had previously boosted bets on a string of rate reductions, lifting equities in turn. But Fed boss Jerome Powell dampened the mood last month when he warned that a December cut was “not a foregone conclusion.”
Thursday’s release of US jobs data for September, delayed by the government shutdown, will be closely watched. “Unless we see a particularly concerning jobs report today, it looks likely that the next rate cut comes in 2026,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. The data carries extra weight as the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not publish its October figures, instead rolling them into November’s full report on December 16. The pullback in US rate cut expectations sent the dollar to its strongest level against the yen since January, spurring talk of an intervention by Japanese authorities. The yen was already under pressure from concerns about Japan’s fiscal outlook before the expected release of a stimulus package by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Worries that she will push for more borrowing have hit the currency and sent bond yields to record highs.
In company news, shares in Games Workshop jumped more than 10 percent on London’s FTSE 100 after it forecast strong earnings and increased dividends.
Key figures at around 1115 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 9,579.48 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 8,020.69
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 23,408.01
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 49,823.94 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 25,835.57 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,931.05 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 46,138.77 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.47 yen from 157.01 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1518 from $1.1526
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3066 from $1.3048
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.14 from 88.33 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $59.95 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $63.97 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
