(Bloomberg) -- Shares in Asia were mixed Thursday while US futures climbed after Nvidia Corp. rose in after-hours trading following a better-than-expected sales outlook.
Japanese shares rose as they near their highest-ever close of 38,915.87 in 1989. Australian equities erased early losses to trade flat while Hong Kong futures fell. US equity futures extended rallies in early Asian trading where gains for Nasdaq 100 contracts came after the underlying index dropped Wednesday.
Moves in US futures were spurred on by Nvidia results. The tech company’s shares soared as much as 11% in post-market trade after it said first-quarter revenue would likely hit $24 billion, above prior estimates of around $22 billion.
Investors in Asia will be keeping a close eye on chip and AI-related stocks as the earnings were predicted to be a catalyst for market sentiment. Contracts for the S&P 500 also rose, extending Wednesday’s small increase. The gains in late New York trading signal the importance of Nvidia to US benchmarks.
“As goes Nvidia, so goes the market,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Bokeh Capital Partners LLC. “And it looks like the results are good enough. It does confirm the narrative that AI is going to continue to be strong for the foreseeable future. This narrative supported the markets last year, why wouldn’t it do the same this year?”
Currency markets were stable early Thursday with the yen largely unchanged at 150 per dollar.
Treasuries steadied in Asia after selling off Wednesday pushing the 10-year yield five basis points higher. The selling pressure was felt across the curve, and followed a $16 billion sale of 20-year bonds and the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes that revealed caution about cutting rates. Australian and New Zealand bonds tracked the declines.
Richmond Fed chief Thomas Barkin highlighted persistent pricing pressures in sectors such as housing even though headline inflation is falling. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, meanwhile, pushed back against the prospect of imminent cuts.
Investors will be again focused on China, after further official efforts to support its financial markets. The country has banned major institutional investors from reducing equity holdings at the open and close of each trading day, an order from the securities watchdog to major asset managers and brokerages stated, according to people familiar with the matter. The regulator has also stepped up the monitoring of short selling.
The Golden Dragon index of US-listed Chinese shares rose almost 1% Wednesday in New York, following gains for mainland and Hong Kong shares.
Elsewhere, Qantas Airways Ltd shares rallied. The carrier said first-half profit declined as airfares fell from their post-Covid spike as it delivered a A$1.25 billion underlying first-half, pre-tax profit, down from a year earlier, but less than analysts expected. United Overseas Bank Ltd.’s fourth-quarter profit expanded, powered by stronger fee income from wealth and credit cards.
A busy day for economic reports in Asia includes Hong Kong inflation, China Swift yuan payments, Indonesia’s fourth-quarter current account balance, and a monetary policy decision in South Korea.
Later Thursday data set for release includes Eurozone inflation and PMIs, as well as US initial jobless claims and home sales.
West Texas Intermediate rose to extend a 1.1% Wednesday gain, supported by tightening physical supplies. Gold was steady at around $2,025 per ounce. Bitcoin was little changed after a decline on Wednesday to trade around $51,350.