A record-breaking rally on Wall Street may set the tone for Asian markets as traders focus on earnings, even as elevated oil prices threaten to keep interest rates and global bond yields higher for longer. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 Index signaled further gains after the indexes closed at all-time highs, driven by gains in artificial intelligence-related shares, with Nvidia Corp.’s market value approaching $6 trillion.
That may support Asian chipmakers including Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Equity-index futures for Japan and Hong Kong pointed to modest gains, while those for South Korea and Taiwan edged lower. In a reprieve for Indonesia, FTSE Russell reaffirmed the country’s equities as an emerging market. Treasury 10-year yields fell from the highest since 2002 and a gauge of dollar strength ended lower on Tuesday. US oil edged higher to trade near $90 a barrel in early Asian trading.
The outlook for Asian stocks remains upbeat, with MSCI’s Asia Pacific gauge hovering near a record as investors bet companies can weather the risks from rising interest rates and energy costs. Much of the optimism is centered on hundreds of billions of dollars in AI-related spending by tech giants, which is fueling demand for memory chips and other electronics components. Analysts expect a roughly 25% increase in third-quarter S&P 500 profits from a year earlier.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing