Asian stocks rose for a second day on Friday, driven by a global rally that saw markets from the United States to Europe to Japan hit record highs.
Australian, Taiwanese, and South Korean stocks rose. Japanese markets were closed on Friday due to the holiday. S&P futures hovered near record highs around 5,100 on Thursday's strong tech rally, while European contracts were firm.
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China remained an exception. The CSI300 index continued to decline for the first time in nine sessions, while the CSI300 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index turned from rising to falling.
The generally bullish mood continued in Asia, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and MSCI All-County Index closing at new records following overnight gains in the US. A positive outlook for Nvidia Inc., the most valuable chipmaker, has sent the company soaring 16% amid an artificial intelligence frenzy, while the latest data showed the world's biggest economy remains strong.
The $277 billion that Nvidia boosted its market capitalization in a single day on Thursday was the largest single-session increase in value ever, surpassing the recent $197 billion increase by Metaplatforms Inc.
“Given the lack of interest rate cuts throughout the year, the main catalyst for the market will inevitably be earnings,” said Quincy Crosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. ” he said. “It was clear from the top down to the bottom line that the demand for AI infrastructure was growing exponentially.”
The Hang Seng Mainland Property Index rose for the fourth straight day as the country's real estate sector showed signs of improvement for the first time in 10 months. Data released on Friday showed that the pace of decline in China's home prices for both new and existing homes slowed in January.
The number of foreclosed properties for sale in China rose at a faster pace in January, data released Thursday also showed, as the market parses signs that a slowdown in China's economy is taking hold. There is.
“The Chinese authorities can't withstand such a weak equity market, but I think it's really just a recovery in trading,” said Garry Evans, chief global asset allocation strategist at BCA Research. “At the moment, China's economy still looks very weak.”
Back in the US, traders took the Fed's more hawkish comments in stride. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was little changed on Thursday at 4.32%. Trading in cash government bonds was suspended in Asia on Friday, which is a public holiday in Japan.
“As we become more confident that disinflation is underway and sustainable, the changing outlook justifies a change in policy rates,” Federal Reserve President Lisa Cook said at an event at Princeton University. Probably.''
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AI computing boom
Nvidia's market cap has increased by more than $700 billion this year and is now worth more than $1.9 trillion. Investors are betting the company will remain the biggest beneficiary of the AI computing boom.
The rise in tech stocks has pushed the Nasdaq 100's valuation higher than in previous years, as has the S&P 500. Higher valuations could ultimately limit further growth as investors consider how much they are willing to pay for stocks with future value.
In commodity markets, oil fell as investors weighed signs of market tightening against persistent concerns about demand. Gold prices were buoyed by U.S. economic data and Fed minutes that showed policymakers were comfortable raising interest rates for an extended period of time if necessary.
In corporate news, Standard Chartered announced a $1 billion share buyback, with fourth-quarter profits exceeding analyst expectations.
This week's main events:
- Germany IFO Business Environment, GDP, Friday
- ECB releases one-year and three-year inflation expectations survey on Friday
The main movements in the market are:
stock
- S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 2:33 p.m. Tokyo time.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng hasn't changed much.
- The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%.
currency
- Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index little changed
- The euro was almost unchanged at $1.0825.
- The Japanese yen remained almost unchanged at 150.58 yen to the dollar.
- The offshore yuan was almost unchanged at 7.2080 yuan to the dollar.
cryptocurrency
- Bitcoin falls 1% to $51,149.26
- Ether fell 1% to $2,956.11.
bond
- The 10-year government bond yield was almost unchanged at 4.32%.
- Japan's 10-year bond yield remains almost unchanged at 0.715%
- The Australian 10-year bond yield rose 4 basis points to 4.20%.
merchandise
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.5% to $78.19 a barrel.
- Spot gold remained largely unchanged.
This article was produced in partnership with Bloomberg Automation.
© 2024 Bloomberg
