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Japan's Nikkei hits record high as Nvidia raises Asian tech

Japan's Nikkei share average topped its alltime peak on Thursday, after all of a sudden strong profits projections from U.S. chip designer Nvidia raised Asian tech stocks.

Chinese equities recovered from early weakness and looked set to extend a winning run to a 8th straight session amidst optimism over Beijing's stimulus efforts.

Long-term U.S. bond yields hugged three-month highs while the dollar sagged after minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee conference confirmed the view that rates of interest cuts would be slow in coming, however weren't markedly more hawkish than the Fed's previously expressed views.

The Nikkei 225 share average closed 2.19% higher at 39,098.68, and earlier rose as high as 39,156.97, topping the previous all-time closing and intraday highs set on Dec. 29, 1989, at the peak of the so-called bubble economy.

Given robust business profits without frothy valuations similar to the last time Japanese equities were this high, a. weakening yen background, along with the market reacting well to. the federal government's tilt towards greater business governance, it's. little bit surprise that investor belief remains really positive. and Japanese equities continue to rise, said Joe Lin,. executive director for investments at Golden Equator Wealth.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. rose 0.56%, assisted by gains of around 1% for. both Taiwan's stock criteria and Hong Kong's Hang Seng. , which rebounded greatly after early losses.

Mainland blue chips were last up 0.61%, after. oscillating throughout the session in between little gains and losses in. early trading.

U.S. stock index futures indicated strong gains, following a. blended session on Wednesday for the primary criteria. S&P 500. futures rallied 0.75% and tech-focused Nasdaq futures. jumped 1.46%.

Following the closing bell overnight, Nvidia anticipated a. approximately 233% rise in quarterly income, sending its shares up. some 10% after-hours.

U.S. futures are up, strong - that's just Nvidia. there, said Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at Capital.com.

Equities more broadly are following in the slip stream.

The Nikkei has jumped nearly 17% already this year, with the. S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallying some 5% each, driven in big part. by mammoth expectations for artificial intelligence (AI), with. Nvidia's chips at the centre of that boom.

Nvidia's incomes beat boosted belief and reduced concerns. over extended evaluations, supplying room for the AI theme to. continue to drive markets, Saxo Markets experts composed in a. research study note.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reduced a little in Asian time. on Thursday to 4.3069%, however stayed near to the 4.332% level. marked a week back, which had actually not been seen considering that completion of. November.

The bulk of policymakers at the U.S. Federal Reserve's last. meeting in January were concerned about the threats of cutting. interest rates prematurely, with broad unpredictability about the length of time. borrowing expenses should stay at their existing level, minutes. launched on Wednesday revealed.

That reinforced the view amongst traders that any rate cut is. not imminent, with market prices suggesting one-in-three odds. for a first decrease in May, according to CME Group's FedWatch. Tool.

The dollar continued to retreat from a three-month high. reached last week, when the U.S. dollar index, which. tracks the currency versus 6 major peers, reached 104.97. It. was down 0.12% at 103.86 in Asian trading on Thursday.

The euro ticked up 0.14% to $1.08345, and sterling. included 0.08% to $1.2647, whereas the yen was. flat at 150.275 per dollar.

Somewhere else, oil costs rose, adding to gains from the. previous session that came in the middle of signs of tighter supply.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures (WTI). acquired 25 cents to $78.16 a barrel, while Brent included 24. cents to $83.27 a barrel.

Oil rates increased 1% on Wednesday, with refinery restarts in. the United States supporting demand after a series of failures. previously cut U.S. refinery utilisation rates to the most affordable level. in 2 years.

(source: Reuters)