Post by : Badri Ariffin

Asian markets kicked off Thursday with a robust performance, driven by Nvidia’s outstanding earnings announcement, as traders watched for U.S. jobs data that was delayed. Tech-heavy sectors led the upward trend, bolstered by renewed enthusiasm for AI chip demand.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged by 4.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose by 3.3%, and Taiwan’s Taiex gained 3.4%. Major tech companies saw significant increases: TSMC gained 4.3%, Samsung Electronics jumped by 5.1%, SK Hynix added 4.5%, and Tokyo Electron experienced a 5.4% rise.

Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, reassured investors with comments regarding the soaring demand for AI chips from leading cloud services, alleviating worries about potential overvaluation in the AI sector. The corporation provided a quarterly revenue forecast that exceeded analysts’ expectations, triggering a buying spree in the tech industry.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japan, increased by 1.2%, bouncing back from a recent one-month low, while S&P 500 e-mini futures rose by 1.3% as Wall Street absorbed Nvidia’s results.

Conversely, markets in China struggled to keep pace. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.1%, and mainland stocks closed unchanged after an earlier surge, despite the People’s Bank of China maintaining benchmark lending rates steady for the sixth consecutive month. Lingering concerns about the pace of China’s economic recovery are dampening investor confidence.

The U.S. dollar saw a boost, climbing 0.2% against major currencies, positioning itself near a two-week high. The yen continued to fall, reaching record lows versus the dollar and euro due to shifts in Japan's domestic policy. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices rose by 0.5% to $63.80 per barrel, as traders considered global geopolitical shifts.

Cryptocurrencies made small gains, with Bitcoin and Ether both up about 2%, while gold prices fluctuated, eventually closing slightly lower after a brief bounce.

Global investors are remaining vigilant as they wait for critical U.S. economic updates, particularly the postponed September jobs report, which is likely to impact Federal Reserve policy choices in December.

#Global News