Stocks
Asian markets track Wall St record ahead of Nvidia results, Fed minutes
Asian investors fought Wednesday to revive a recent rally across markets as they turned their focus on the release later in the day of earnings from US tech darling Nvidia.
Record closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq provided a little inspiration, even with few catalysts to drive buying, with minutes from the Federal Reserve’s May policy decision possibly giving an insight into officials’ thinking with regard to interest rates.
A slowdown in US inflation and China’s announcement last week of plans to support its crucial but battered property sector have helped propel equities but, with that euphoria petering out, traders are taking a breather.
The next major driver could be the results from Nvidia — the third-largest US company by market capitalisation — which is being seen as a gauge of overall market sentiment.
The chip-making giant’s stock price has rocketed in recent years — its shares are up around 90 percent in 2024 — with the high-end processors prized by firms looking to get ahead in the booming artificial intelligence sector.
However, there is a worry that the figures do not match sky-high expectations, which some observers say could spark a hefty sell-off, particularly among market-heavyweight tech firms.
After the previous day’s retreat, most Asian markets rose Wednesday, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta all in positive territory. Tokyo fell, however.
Investors are also looking forward to getting an eye on the minutes from the Fed’s May 1 rate decision, which will be pored over for an idea about the thought process as decision-makers considered three straight months of above-forecast consumer inflation data.
While the April reading on prices showed a slowdown, a number of central bank officials are reluctant to begin cutting too early.
Fed governor Christopher Waller said he wanted to see “several” months of additional data, while Atlanta boss Raphael Bostic warned that “one number is not a trend” and he did not see a reduction before the fourth quarter.
Bostic’s comments were echoed by his Cleveland and Boston counterparts Loretta Mester and Susan Collins.
“I think this is a moment or a period when patience really matters,” Collins said. “I think the data has been very mixed
“It’s going to take longer than I had previously thought.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 38,719.35 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 19,303.62
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,164.06
Dollar/yen: UP at 156.24 yen from 156.18 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0862 from $1.0858
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2722 from $1.2708
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.39 from 85.41 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $78.08 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $82.33 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 39,872.99 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,416.45 (close)
Reviewing the U.S. Stock Markets, the Nasdaq Composite, recorded a decent hike of 555 points, reaching a closing value of 17,688 points by the end of the week. Similarly, the S&P 500 index showed a positive trend, gaining 85 point to settle at 5,431 points. Meanwhile, DJIA Index experienced a notable drop, losing 209 points during the week and concluding at 38,589 points after a week of gaining.
In contrast, Russell 3000 Index saw a gain in week performance, with a slight hike of 40 points to reach 3,077 points by the end of the week.
Moving to Russell 2000 Index, demonstrated a notable drop of 20 point, ending the week at 2,006 points.
In the Outgoing week, the European stock market displayed a massive losing performance.
Here is the data on the weekly performance of the European Stock Market, The STOXX Europe 600 index, which is considered a leading benchmark for the European market and covers approximately 90 percent of the market capitalization across 17 countries, reported a drop of 12.5 points to close at 511.05.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100, one of the most widely followed indices in Europe, also showed a significant drop, losing 99 points or finishing the session at 8,146.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index, lost by 555 points to reach 18,002, while France’s CAC 498 decreased by 9 points to stop at 7,503 at the end of the trading day.
Italy’s FTSE MIB, which covers the top 40 stocks traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, decreased by 1,995 points to 32,665. However, Spain’s IBEX 35, added by 412 points, to close at 10,992.
A review of South Asian stock markets shows that India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index BSE Sensex has added 299 points during the week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 76,992 points. On the other hand, the Nifty-50 index of the country’s National Stock Exchange gained by 175 points last week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 23,465 points.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Index ‘KSE 100’, shed 2,926 points last week. After a week of losing, the index settled at 76,742 points.
On the other hand, The Sri Lankan stock market index adds, and the Colombo Stock Exchange index ‘ASPI’ increased by 208 points in a week. After a week the index settled at 12,314 points.
Bhutan’s stock market index ‘BSI’ added 68 points hence the index stood at 1,515 points throughout the whole week. Nepal’s ‘NEPSE’ gain 35 points, therefore the index stands at 2,112 points.
Hence Dhaka Stock Exchange: The benchmark index ‘DSEX’ dropped by 119.51 points or 2.28 percent, in the outgoing week. At the end of the week, the index stands at 5,117 points.
