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MORNING BID AMERICAS-Nikkei and Nasdaq stalk records, CPI lurks

A take a look at the day ahead in U.S. and international markets from Mike Dolan

Mad trading activity around artificial intelligence and chipmakers has tech heavy stock indexes from Wall St's Nasdaq to Japan's Nikkei just a stone's toss from all-time highs - even if Tuesday's U.S. inflation upgrade had them back off in the meantime.

With United States annual customer cost inflation anticipated to ebb to a. near 3-year low of 2.9% - and below 3% for the first time since. March 2021 - bonds and rates markets held consistent.

Even though Federal Reserve futures markets now have sights. securely set on May instead of March for the very first rates of interest. cut in the cycle, the central bank will invite another retreat. in CPI even if core rates remain stick.

Further encouragement came on Monday as the New York Fed's. family study showed 3-year inflation expectations falling to. just 2.4% - the lowest in practically 4 years.

But with China's markets still closed for the Lunar New Year. holiday, all the markets buzz was once again in tech and AI.

Helped by both the tech sector boost and a softening yen. toward 150 per dollar for the very first time considering that November,. Japan's Nikkei - among the investment beloveds of the. year so far - skyrocketed practically 3% and closed at a fresh 34-year. high as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend.

It's now simply 2% from the record peak it set at the height. of Japan's home bubble in 1990.

On of the motorists of Tuesday's gains was SoftBank,. which climbed up 6.27% - buoyed in turn by the remarkable share. price boom in chip designer Arm Holdings, in which. SoftBank has a 90% stake.

Infused with the AI frenzy, Arm's shares surged another 40%. on Monday - adding to an incredible rally that's seen it get. more than 80% since its incomes projections were launched last. Wednesday. And its market price has actually now reached a record $141. billion, nearly tripling given that its going public last. September.

What's more, Monday saw chip giant Nvidia cross. above Amazon.com in market capitalization at one point. amid the same AI bliss - briefly making it the fourth-most. valuable U.S. business.

All the enjoyment saw the Nasdaq surpass its record. closing high from November 2021 at one stage during Monday's. trading - just half a percent from its all-time intraday peak.

It slipped back before the close, however, with Tesla. falling once again and progressively separated out from the. so-called 'Spectacular 7 grouping of megacap tech stock. leaders. Embroiled in a cost war with Chinese competitors, Tesla's. stock is down nearly 25% up until now this year.

Nasdaq futures fell back about 0.5% before the open, with. S&P 500 futures down about 0.4% as the inflation release was. waited for.

With the January NFIB small business study due later on, small. caps outshined on Monday - climbing up 1.8% and the large. caps stumbled at new highs.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin touched its highest since December. 2021 at $50,383 and steadied above $50,000 for a 2nd day. running. The world's biggest crypto token has increased nearly 18%. this year, helped by last month's regulatory nod for U.S.-listed. exchange traded funds (ETFs) and an expected 'cutting in half' event. later this year.

In Europe, sterling increased and British stocks and bonds fell. after news that UK pay grew at the weakest pace in more than a. year at the end of 2023 even as the jobless rate fell again.

The drop in wage development was not as big as forecast, nevertheless,. and probably not considerable enough to stimulate the Bank of England. into quicker action towards cutting interest rates.

Key journal products that might offer direction to U.S. markets later on. on Tuesday:. * U.S. Jan customer cost inflation report, NFIB Jan little. organization study. * Energy and climate ministers gather in Paris for IEA's 2024. Ministerial Fulfilling. * U.S. corporate earnings: AIG, Airbnb, Lyft, Coca-Cola,. Marriott, MGM Resorts, Molson Coors, Biogen, Hasbro, Moody's,. Robinhood, Eversource Energy, Ecolab, Howmet Aerospace, Incyte,. DaVita, Invitation Houses, Akamai Technologies, Welltower, EQT,. Leidos, Zoetis, Zillow

(source: Reuters)