By Gregor Stuart Hunter
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Stocks rose at the start of the Asia-Pacific trading session on Thursday as Nvidia’s latest earnings report beat estimates, lifting tech hardware manufacturers and reviving investor confidence after data overnight showed that the Federal Reserve’s preferred U.S. inflation measure is still running hot.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was up 0.7%, on track to extend gains into a third consecutive day after Nvidia reported that its quarterly revenue more than doubled and forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. The AI chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.7% in after-hours trading, lifting S&P 500 e-mini futures by 0.4%.
“The business is in absolutely rude health,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne. “It’s going to wake people up and think ‘what have I missed?’ It’s a really bullish story and anyone supplying Nvidia through the supply chain will likely see the benefit today.”
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.5%, paring early gains after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3%, in line with market views that narrowly expected a hike. Taiwanese shares rose 0.9%, while the Nikkei 225 slid 0.4%.
Stocks on Wall Street edged up overnight with the S&P 500 closing flat after the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.2% in July compared with the prior month after a 0.1% decline a month earlier.
“July core PCE inflation appeared broadly in line with expectations, but the details were firmer,” analysts from Societe Generale wrote. “The inflation backdrop therefore looks somewhat firmer heading into the September FOMC meeting.”
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was down 1.5 basis points at 4.647% as markets awaited Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday for further clues on the path for U.S. interest rates.
Brent crude was down 0.7% at $87.20, with the benchmark on track to fall for a fourth consecutive day as Qatar’s prime minister prepares to visit Tehran on Thursday in an effort to relaunch peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
“Crude oil prices continued to gradually ease despite a still highly uncertain outlook around management of the Strait of Hormuz and the current health of global oil supply, especially in light of renewed threats of escalation from Putin in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Westpac analysts wrote.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, held at 99.12, near its highest level over the past week.
Gold rallied 0.7% to $4,624.14 after a pullback on Wednesday. In cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin was up 0.8% at $79,043.18, while ether was up 1.3% at $2,504.96.
All three are benefiting from the revival of so-called “dollar debasement trades” after the U.S. Treasury Department intervened in bond markets last week.
(Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
