London (AFP) – Wall Street and Asian stock markets advanced on Monday, with tech stocks leading the way. Gold and silver also struck fresh record highs, while oil prices climbed as the US pushed on with its Venezuela oil blockade. “US stock indices continue to power ahead in what some describe as the long-awaited traditional ‘Santa rally’,” said Axel Rudolph, an analyst at IG trading platform.
Tech stocks pushed higher as concerns about a bubble in AI stocks receded, with the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks rising 0.5 percent. “There is a stir in the market thanks to a Reuters report that Nvidia is looking to start H200 (chip) shipments to China by mid-February,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. The Trump administration earlier this month gave the go-ahead to ship the chips to China, reversing US export policy for the advanced AI chips. Shares in Nvidia added 1.4 percent in early afternoon trading. O’Hare also pointed to a report that OpenAI had boosted its margin on paid products as boosting sentiment. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent.
Tech firms also led the rally in Asia, with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, Taiwan’s TSMC, and Japan’s Renesas among the best performers. Tokyo was the standout, piling on 1.8 percent thanks to a weaker yen. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok, Wellington, Taipei, and Manila stock markets all saw healthy advances. However, in Europe both London and Paris fell, while Frankfurt ended the day flat. “Tech stocks are leading this ‘Santa Rally’ and Europe is tech-light, so it may be a laggard as we start a new week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
The tech bounce came after a bout of selling fueled by concerns that valuations had been stretched and questions were being asked about the vast sums invested in artificial intelligence that some warn could take time to see returns. Gold, which benefits from expectations of lower US interest rates, hit a fresh record of $4,442.19, while silver also struck a new peak. The precious metals, which are go-to assets in times of crisis, also benefited from geopolitical worries as Washington steps up its oil blockade against Venezuela and after Ukraine hit a tanker from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Mediterranean. Oil prices rose more than two percent amid the geopolitical tensions.
Forex traders are keeping tabs on Tokyo after Japan’s top currency official said he was concerned about the yen’s recent weakness, which came after the central bank hiked interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday. The comments stoked speculation that officials could intervene in currency markets to support the yen, which fell more than one percent against the dollar Friday after bank boss Kazuo Ueda chose not to signal more increases early in the new year.
Meanwhile, Oracle tech tycoon Larry Ellison offered a $40.4 billion personal guarantee to back Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, deepening a bidding war with Netflix. Shares in Paramount jumped six percent and those in Warner Bros. Discovery rose three percent. Shares in Netflix slid 0.8 percent.
– Key figures at around 1630 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 48,388.95 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 6,875.89
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 23,445.06
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 9,865.97 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,121.07 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,283.97 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 50,402.39 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 25,801.77 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,917.36 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.95 yen from 157.59 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1761 from $1.1719
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3452 from $1.3386
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.45 pence from 87.55 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $57.65 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.0 percent at $61.67 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
