Stock market today: Asian stocks advance after Nvidia sets off a rally on Wall Street – WTOP News

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets mostly rose on Friday after Nvidia delivered surprising results, triggering a rally in other technology companies that took Wall Street to another record.

Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday, a day after they hit a record high.

US futures rose while oil prices fell.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell less than 0.1% to 16,728.00 and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4% to 3,001.38.

Government data on Wednesday showed few signs of recovery in China's housing market, as new home prices in first-tier cities fell 0.4% in January from the previous month, extending a downward trend. .

The real estate sector accounts for almost a third of China's economic activity and the collapse of the entire industry has weighed on growth and undermined the confidence of both investors and consumers.

Markets mostly rose in other parts of Asia.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,643.60, and Seoul's Kospi added 0.2% to 2,670.40.

In India, the Sensex gained 0.2% and the Bangkok SET fell 0.2%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 2.1% to 5,087.03, an all-time high. The Nasdaq rose 3% to 16,041.62.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has a lower weighting in technology stocks, jumped 1.2% to 39,069.11. That marks its first close above 39,000.

Nvidia The stock price rose on Thursday after delivering another explosion roomtriggering a rally in other technology companies that took Wall Street to another record high.

The chipmaker, which soared 16.4%, reported scorching demand for its semiconductors. Its shares have tripled over the past year thanks to a surge in investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Synopsis, which makes software used to test and develop chips, rose 6.9% after raising its profit forecast.

Other chipmakers and companies involved in the chip manufacturing industry also gained ground. Advanced Micro Devices rose 10.7% and Lam Research added 4.7%.

Technology stocks have been the driving force behind the market rally that began in October. Strong earnings from some of the biggest names in the sector are helping to justify and reinforce those gains.

Wall Street expects just under 4% growth in earnings for the broader S&P 500 during the fourth quarter. The communication services sector, which includes Google parent Alphabet, is expected to record 45% growth. IT companies, including Nvidia, are expected to post 22% growth.

“Near-term momentum for AI-related stocks is likely to continue,” said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Nearly 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported profits. There are still some big names to report over the next few weeks, including Lowe's, Dollar Tree, and Best Buy.

Wall Street's focus on earnings this week follows last week's economic data that caused the market to stumble. Inflation The data was more positive than Wall Street expected, while retail sales fell more than expected. That raised concerns about the timing of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Wall Street is now betting that the central bank will begin cutting its benchmark rate in June, rather than March.

Investors could get more clarity on inflation next week when the government releases its monthly report on consumption and personal spending, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure. The Federal Reserve is trying to reduce inflation to its 2% goal. Analysts expect that report to show inflation cooled to 2.3% in January. It peaked at 7.1% in June 2022.

Bond yields remained relatively stable. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.33% from 4.32% late Wednesday.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 51 cents to $78.10 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 40 cents to $82.30 a barrel.

The US dollar was trading at 150.65 Japanese yen, slightly up from 150.51 yen. The euro rose to $1.0831 from $1.0827.

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