Asian stocks track Wall Street’s Nvidia-led rally

Hong Kong, Aug. 24 (BNA): Asian shares rallied on Thursday after blockbuster results from tech darling Nvidia boosted Wall Street and a retreat in U.S. bond yields eased pressure on borrowing costs globally.

 

A round of soft manufacturing surveys had also revived hopes central banks were done tightening, though that might change depending on what clues about interest rates Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives at an annual central bank summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, Reuters reported.

 

“Equities rallied and bond yields retreated as flash PMI data for August signalled weaker economic activity in the U.S., euro area and UK, fuelling market expectations that central banks may not have to raise rates again,” said analysts at ANZ in a note.

 

“This week’s Jackson Hole Symposium remains firmly in focus for markets … We expect (Powell) will err on the side of caution with respect to inflation, noting some signs of improvement but still with a long way to go.”

 

European markets were set for a higher open, with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 1.7%, German DAX futures rising 0.6% and FTSE futures adding 0.5%.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.7%, also lifted by Nvidia’s bullish outlook.

 

The index is however down 8.1% so far this month due to the weakness in China’s economy and yuan, as well as some gloomy factory readings from Japan, which also left sentiment fragile.

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , rose 0.77%.

 

Australian shares edged up 0.63%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.81%, in a fourth straight session of gains on Thursday, the longest streak since mid-June.

 

China stocks also rebounded on Thursday with blue-chip CSI300 index advancing 1.28% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 2.1% in afternoon trade as some investors bought the dip following recent slumps.

 

The yuan inched higher against the dollar, as the central bank continued to fix the daily mid-point at stronger-than-expected levels.

 

 

ZH