European stocks gained as investors await Nividia Corp.’s update on the artificial intelligence boom that has powered equity gains this year.
Chipmakers including ASM International NV, BE Semiconductor Industries and Infineon Tecnologies AG were among the biggest gainers as the Stoxx 600 Europe index rose about 0.3%. France’s benchmark underperformed amid fresh political upheaval. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed.
There’s been plenty to rattle markets in recent days, including French politics and the Trump administration’s attacks on the Fed, as well as fresh tariff threats. But investors are now honing in on Nvidia’s earnigns, due after the bell. The chipmaking giant is expected provide clues on the sustainability of massive AI spending, and how the US-China rivalry is limiting growth.
“Today’s focus would be on Nvidia earnings, which is likely to set the tone for risky assets over the coming days,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist and strategist for Europe at Jefferies International Ltd. “Overall, we remain bullish on the tech sector as we believe that we are just in the initial phases of the AI business cycle. Our worry for equities is still positioning. We would wait for a bit of cleanup in positioning before adding to longs.”
A gauge of Asian tech shares rose as much as 0.7%, Chinese AI linchpin Cambricon Technologies Corp. jumping as much as 10% to its highest ever after a record profit.
The dollar rose 0.2% against major peers, recovering Tuesday’s loss from President Donald Trump’s push to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Gold fell 0.6% while Treasuries steadied after long-dated bonds from the US to France and the UK retreated Tuesday. Oil was flat after higher US tariffs on India kicked in.
Dimming the excitement is confusion over how much business Nvidia will be able to do in China.
“Nvidia’s results transcend the company, becoming a barometer of macroeconomic activity, a talisman for the artificial intelligence trade, and a critical pressure point for global geopolitics,” wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Trump said he was prepared for a legal fight while the Fed, weighing in for the first time this week, said it would abide by any court decision in Cook’s legal challenge of her dismissal.
The Fed’s perceived independence from government whims is a bedrock assumption of US markets, and any change to that perception could weigh on US credit ratings.
“Trump’s push to fire Cook has exacerbated concerns about the Fed’s independence,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “While the price action in US rates has been largely contained to the recent range, many of the go-to hedges against an erosion of Fed independence outperformed on the news of Cook’s firing.”
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% as of 8:21 a.m. London time
S&P 500 futures were little changed
Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4%
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1611
The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 147.82 per dollar
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1597 per dollar
The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3456
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $110,919.79
Ether fell 0.2% to $4,576.91
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.27%
Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.73%
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.75%
Commodities
Brent crude fell 0.1% to $67.12 a barrel
Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,375.46 an ounce
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