Asian Stocks Edge Lower Ahead Of Nvidia Earnings: Markets Wrap

Stocks in Asia slid as traders awaited earnings from Nvidia Corp. due later Wednesday for fresh catalysts. Treasuries steadied after gains driven by an escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Shares fell in Japan, Australia and mainland China, while those in South Korea advanced. US contracts climbed after Wall Street benchmarks closed higher, reversing earlier losses spurred by geopolitical tensions. 

Traders are turning their focus to Nvidia to see if the world’s most valuable company can continue its remarkable run fueled by spending on artificial intelligence hardware. The chipmaker rose 4.9% on Tuesday. Bloomberg’s dollar gauge was little changed after a three-day drop, suggesting a rally inspired by Donald Trump’s election win may have plateaued.  

“It seems like there is a lack of catalysts,” said Ken Wong, an Asian equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments. “We’re off two-year highs for the Dollar Index which might give some momentum for Asia stocks, especially if we can see further downward movements of the index.”

Chinese banks kept their benchmark lending rates unchanged, in line with expectations. 

In Asia’s corporate news, Tokyo Gas Co. shares jumped more than 10% after Elliott Investment Management reported it had acquired 5.03% of the utility company’s shares. Seven & i also surged after a report that the founding family of the Japanese retail giant is looking to complete a take-private deal by the end of its fiscal year in February. 

Shares of HKBN Ltd. rose as much as 15% on news that China Mobile is in talks on a potential acquisition of the Hong Kong broadband provider.  

Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia’s central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold later in the day. 

In the US session, the S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps advanced 1.7%. US 10-year yields slid two basis points to 4.40%, while Australia’s equivalent was steady in early trading on Wednesday. 

President-elect Donald Trump announced he was tapping Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department, a key role in facilitating Trump’s tariff and trade policies. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin set another all-time high, supported by a series of developments highlighting the deepening embrace of the digital-asset industry in the US under crypto cheerleader Trump. 

Gold held a two-day climb. Oil was steady as an industry report signaled a build in US crude inventories ahead of official government figures.

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Key events this week:

• Nvidia earnings, Wednesday

• Fed’s Lisa Cook and Michelle Bowman speak, Wednesday

• Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday

• US existing home sales, initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed factory index, Thursday

• Eurozone HCOB Manufacturing & Services PMI, Friday

• US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, S&P Global Manufacturing & Services PMI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 10:43 a.m. Tokyo time

• Japan’s Topix fell 0.3%

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%

• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed

• The Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3%

• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro was little changed at $1.0599

• The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 154.83 per dollar

• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2397 per dollar

• The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6533

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $92,057.67

• Ether rose 0.4% to $3,108.7

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.39%

• Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.55%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $69.53 a barrel

• Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,638.08 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.