Asian stocks were likely to find some support from signs of progress in debt-ceiling talks and gains in US equities fueled by a frenzy of interest in the artificial intelligence sector.
Futures for Japan’s equity benchmark rose, while those for Australia were little changed. Hong Kong is closed for a public holiday. A bullish sales forecast from Nvidia Corp. ignited the jump on Wall Street Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gaining 2.5% and the S&P 500 adding 0.9%.
A gauge of the dollar’s strength extended gains into a fourth day, the longest winning streak since October, while commodities are set for a sixth weekly drop on China’s muted economic rebound, their worst run since late 2015. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed to work through the US holiday weekend to seek an agreement on averting an approaching debt default.
Read More: US on ‘Borrowed Time’ as Debt Cap Drives Cash Below $50 Billion
In the US, shares of Nvidia soared 24% after the company’s forecast related to AI surprised even the most optimistic analysts on Wall Street, propelling the company to the cusp of a $1 trillion market value. The AI craze also continued afterhours, when Marvell Technology Inc. projected 2024 revenue from the technology will at least double from a year ago.
The gains are another sign that investors are willing to pile into promising tech stocks, despite the growing worries about China’s economy and a potentially catastrophic US debt default. Fitch Ratings warned that the US’s AAA rating is under threat, though it still expects politicians will reach an agreement before time runs out.
“Between the debt ceiling and AI, everything else is kind of dwarfed by the magnitude of those two things,” said Louise Goudy Willmering, partner at Crewe Advisors LLC.
Treasury-bill yields slated to mature early next month edged higher as investors continued to demand a premium on securities seen most at risk of non-payment if the government exhausts its borrowing capacity. Yields on Australian and New Zealand 10-year notes followed the gains in Treasuries.
The wrangling in Washington adds to the risks assessed by Federal Reserve officials as they consider pausing interest rate increases. Traders are now fully pricing in another quarter-point hike within the next two policy meetings after the release of mixed data on Thursday, including a higher revised first-quarter GDP and fewer-than-expected jobless claims.
Oil fell the most since early May after Russia downplayed the likelihood of another OPEC+ production cut, extending its loss to about 9% this year, with China’s muted economic rebound and tighter US monetary policy combining to weigh on prices. Copper and iron ore have both breached key levels this week, pulling down the Bloomberg Commodity Index.
Meanwhile, traders added to bets the Bank of England will keep raising interest rates after an unexpectedly strong reading of UK inflation on Wednesday. Money markets are now pricing more than 100 basis points of additional tightening by December.
Key events this week:
- Tokyo CPI, Friday
- US consumer income, wholesale inventories, durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% as of 8:24 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.5%
- Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.8%
- S&P/ASX 200 futures were little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was little changed at $1.0727
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 139.89 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.0904 per dollar
- The Australian dollar was unchanged at $0.6505
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $26,529.99
- Ether was little changed at $1,811.33
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced eight basis points to 3.82%
- Australia’s 10-year yield rose five basis points to 3.75%
- New Zealand’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.42%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
- Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
--With assistance from Isabelle Lee.
