London (AFP) – Stock markets rose Wednesday as renewed optimism over the AI trade overshadowed forecast-topping US inflation data and the prospect of a bumper interest rate hike next month. London, Paris, and Frankfurt stock markets all advanced after a largely positive day in Asia.
“The volatility wracking the tech sector continues, with futures indicating another rebound could be on the cards on Wall Street,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club. After last week’s rout fueled by fears that Democrats would ramp up regulation of AI, tech stocks have bounced this week on bargain-buying and hopes that fears may have been overdone.
Sentiment was boosted by earnings from data center operator CoreWeave, which said sales would come in at $13-$13.3 billion this year, beating estimates. The outlook soothed worries about its ability to finance its heavy debt burden, which had fueled a sharp sell-off last month.
Also lifting confidence was Anthropic’s filing showing it planned to raise up to $64 billion in its upcoming initial public offering, valuing it at as much as $1.4 trillion. Its stock market debut is being seen as a gauge of how long the AI spending boom can last.
Chip giant Nvidia, however, remained in focus following the bombshell revelation of an affair between CEO Jensen Huang and a woman reportedly suspected of being a Chinese spy. The firm is now the subject of an FBI investigation.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red Tuesday, snapping a two-day rally, but Asian markets fared better. Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei — where most of Asia’s leading AI-linked firms are listed — enjoyed big gains, with Shanghai also up. Hong Kong, however, fell.
Traders are weighing the possibility of a bigger-than-expected rate hike by the Federal Reserve when it next meets in December. US consumer prices rose 0.4 percent on-month in October, a slowdown from the previous month but more than analysts had forecast. The report came hours after Fed Governor Christopher Waller called for a swift response to inflation, suggesting he could even support a 50-basis-point hike in December.
Oil prices rose after sinking Tuesday on hopes for a US-Iran agreement to end their war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz. In company news, Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank tumbled as much as eight percent in Tokyo after reporting a more than $7 billion loss in the fiscal second quarter. Shares in Siemens Energy jumped nine percent in Frankfurt after raising its long-term revenue targets, as demand for gas turbines and power-grid equipment surges.
– Key figures at around 1130 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 10,797.80 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,310.19
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 26,541.72
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 61,248.59 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: UP 2.6 percent at 5,375.36 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 24,315.92 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,680.64 (close)
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 52,231.89 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.6 percent at $92.95 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $86.77 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1139 from $1.1164 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3315 from $1.3345
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.88 from 158.80 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.66 from 83.65 pence
© 2024 AFP
