HONG KONG – Thursday’s financial landscape presented a mixed bag, with U.S. futures dipping while Asian markets mostly saw gains. The catalyst for this dynamic was Nvidia’s stronger-than-expected earnings, which provided some relief to investors concerned about the trajectory of the artificial intelligence boom.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index briefly crossed the 59,000 threshold for the first time, before settling to a 0.3% increase at 58,753.39. Notably, SoftBank Group, a company with significant investments in AI technology, saw its shares rise by 4%.
The upward momentum in Japanese stocks was further buoyed by political developments. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent appointment of two economists to the central bank board, both advocates for maintaining low interest rates, has been well-received by the market. This comes as the Bank of Japan continues its careful approach to raising rates from near-zero levels.
South Korea also experienced a surge, with the Kospi index rocketing 3.7% to 6,307.27. This leap follows the index’s first breach of the 6,000 mark on Wednesday and represents a 46% gain since the start of the year. The market’s rebound comes in the aftermath of political turmoil that concluded with the sentencing of former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison. Tech stocks were at the forefront of this rally, with Samsung Electronics climbing 7.1% and SK Hynix advancing 8%.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.4% to 26,383.05, while the Shanghai Composite index remained relatively unchanged, closing at 4,146.63.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 26,383.05. The Shanghai Composite index barely budged, closing at 4,146.63.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 9,175.30.
Taiwan’s Taiex was flat, while India’s Sensex traded 0.3% lower.
The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.
Nvidia’s earnings influence global financial markets both because it is the world’s most valuable company and the biggest S&P 500 constituent and because it is benefiting from advances in AI-related technologies.
Its latest quarterly revenue jumped 73% from a year earlier to $68 billion. The California-based company also gave a forecast of $78 billion for revenue in the current quarter, which exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Its CEO, Jensen Huang, said demand for Nvidia chips is still “skyrocketing.”
“AI is here, AI is not going to go back,” Huang said during a conference call.
Nvidia rose 0.2% in afterhours trading following its earnings announcement, which came after markets closed on Wednesday.
Its robust earnings helped alleviate some concerns over whether the AI craze is real and whether huge investments will pay off. But many investors remain cautious.
Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, however argued in a research note on Thursday that “strong profit growth, as emphasized by recent earnings reports”, including Nvidia’s, is a key reason to think the S&P 500 will do well in 2026. He forecast the S&P 500 at 8,000 by the year’s end.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,946.13. The Dow industrials climbed 0.6% to 49,482.15, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.3% to 23,152.08.
In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 5 cents to $65.47 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 8 cents to $70.77 a barrel.
Gold and silver prices fell on Thursday. The price of gold lost 0.7% and the price of silver fell 3.3%.
The U.S. dollar fell to 156.09 Japanese yen from 156.39 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1814, up from $1.1812.
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