Stock Market Today: Asian Stocks Rise After Wall Street Hits Record Highs

HONG KONG– Asian markets rose on Thursday after Wall Street hit record highs on Wednesday as the frenzy around artificial intelligence technology continues to drive stocks higher.

US futures fell while oil prices rose.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6% to 38,703.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1% to 18,437.17 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2% to 3,059.31.

S of Australia&OP/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,822.00 after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the country’s trade surplus rebounded in April, with exports falling 2.5% and imports falling 7.2% %.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.9%, with shares in electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn losing 1.6%, despite the company reporting that its revenue rose 22.1% year-on-year in May, a record for the month .

In India, the Sensex rose 0.8% after Wednesday’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Coalition won a majority in parliament in the country’s national elections. In Bangkok, the SET lost 0.2%.

South Korean markets were closed due to a public holiday.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 5,354.03, reaching the top of its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2% to 17,187.90 and also set a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which places less emphasis on technology, lagged the market with a 0.2% gain to 38,807.33.

The rally sent the total Nvidia market valuewhich became the example of the AI ​​boom, exceeding US$3 trillion for the first time.

Nvidia is leading because its chips are driving much of the AI ​​race, and it rose another 5.2% to bring its year-to-date gain to more than 147%.

The chip company also joined Microsoft and Apple as the only U.S. stocks to surpass $3 trillion in total value. Apple regained that historic valuation after rising 0.8% on Wednesday.

Gains in technology stocks helped offset a 4.9% drop for Dollar Tree, which met analysts’ expectations in terms of profit, but fell slightly in terms of revenue. The retailer also said it is considering selling or spinning off its Family Dollar business.

The broader retail industry has highlighted the challenges for lower-income U.S. families trying to keep up with still-high inflation.

Treasury yields fell in the bond market following some mixed data on the economy. A report said U.S. real estate, healthcare and other services sector businesses returned to growth last month and surpassed economists’ forecasts. Perhaps more importantly for Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management report also said prices rose at a slower pace in May than the previous month.

Another report suggested that hiring slowed last month more than expected at U.S. nongovernment employers.

Stocks have been choppy recently after reports suggested that growth in the US economy is weakening under the weight of high interest rates. In fact, Wall Street has been waiting for such a slowdown because it could lower inflation and convince the Federal Reserve to make much-desired interest rate cuts.

But it also raises the possibility of overshooting and sending the economy into a recession, which would ultimately hurt stock prices.

Treasury yields fell after weaker-than-expected economic reports raised expectations for upcoming rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.29% from 4.33% on Tuesday and 4.60% a week ago.

The next big move for Treasury yields and Wall Street in general could come on Friday, when the US government releases its monthly employment report. That report is much more comprehensive than Wednesday’s from ADP, and economists expect Friday’s data to show a slight rebound in hiring overall. The hope remains that the job market will slow down its growth, but not so much that it turns into widespread layoffs.

In other trading, benchmark US crude oil gained 34 cents to $74.41 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 34 cents to $78.75 per barrel.

The US dollar rose to 156.14 Japanese yen from 156.10 yen. The euro rose to $1.0877 from $1.0868.