London (AFP) – US markets crept ahead in early trading while European counterparts marked time Friday in response to sharp losses in Asia at the end of a week that has seen heightened fears of a bursting AI bubble. A blockbuster earnings report from chip bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday seemed to soothe concerns that vast investments in the artificial intelligence sector may have been overdone. Those hopes were short-lived, with Nvidia itself losing 1.5 percent in early trading on Wall Street as warnings grew that the tech-led rally across equities — which has seen several markets hit record highs and companies clock eye-watering capitalisations — may have run its course.
Adding to unease was mixed US jobs data Thursday that added to expectations that the Federal Reserve could decide against cutting interest rates in December. That unease spread to Asia, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai all ending the week down almost 2.5 percent at the close. The clouds began to clear to a degree, however, as the Dow, the tech-heavy Nasdaq, and the broader-based S&P 500 rose around half of one percent minutes after business began in Wall Street.
In Europe, London and Frankfurt were marginally in the red two hours out from the close while Paris edged into the green, notably as Ubisoft provided a glimmer of light with a nine-percent rise. The French video game company resumed trading on the Paris stock exchange a week after stunning investors by postponing its results announcement without an explanation, triggering speculation in the video gaming world, including on a possible takeover operation in a consolidating industry. The “Assassin’s Creed” maker said Friday that the move was due to a simple “restatement” of its half-yearly results after new auditors found problems with the way it had accounted for a partnership. Ubisoft’s stock rose 11.5 percent higher at 7.55 euros before dipping back to 7.29 euros — though they remain some 40 percent lower than a year ago.
“European markets are showing their relative resilience” Friday compared to sharper falls on tech-heavy indices in Asia, noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at trading group Scope Markets. The rush from risk assets saw bitcoin hit a seven-month low at $81,569.79 — extending a sell-off suffered since its record high above $126,200 last month. “The price action across markets has been prolific, and we’ve seen some truly impressive reversals in risk assets,” said analyst Chris Weston at broker Pepperstone. “Sentiment in so many markets remains highly challenged, and we’ve seen new evidence that managers are dumping their 2025 winners — raising expectations that the path of least resistance is for risk to trade lower in the near-term,” he added.
On the currency markets, the yen held gains after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her cabinet had approved a 21.3-trillion yen ($135-billion) stimulus package aimed at easing the pain of inflation on households and firms. However, there are worries that the spending plan will add to Japan’s already colossal debt and has pushed government bond yields to record highs, fanning concerns about the country’s fiscal state. The Japanese currency had fallen this week to the lowest level against the dollar since January.
– Key figures at around 1445 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 45,933.13 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,569.39
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 22,197.08
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,513.45
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,986.11
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,199.73
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.4 percent at 48,625.88 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.4 percent at 25,220.02 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 2.5 percent at 3,834.89 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.88 yen from 157.55 yen on Thursday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1506 from $1.1525
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3069 from $1.3070
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.04 from 88.18 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $62.38 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $57.89 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
