Stocks in Asia looked set to climb after a rally in technology firms boosted Wall Street, easing some concerns about the disruptive impacts of artificial intelligence.
Equity index futures signaled solid openings in Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong. In the US, a rebound in battered software stocks drove the Nasdaq 100 up 1.1%, while the S&P 500 also advanced, supported by an improvement in consumer confidence. Short-dated bonds underperformed. Gold and oil fell.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. jumped about 9% on Meta Platforms Inc.'s plans to spend billions on its gear. Weeks after Anthropic PBC sparked a market meltdown with the release of tools that raised questions about AI's potential to render entire businesses obsolete, the startup said it's expanding the reach of its Claude chatbot into new sectors.
It also highlighted how Claude integrates rather than displaces existing systems, noted Adam Crisafulli at Vital Knowledge.
“This ‘we're here to help, not hurt' message from Anthropic is helping to trigger a fairly healthy rebound rally in software,” he said.
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Traders are also bracing for Nvidia Corp.'s results on Wednesday, expecting the chipmaker to trounce expectations. The report will follow its recent lackluster stock performance driven by investors rotating away from megacaps.
This week's earnings will either “calm or exacerbate” AI fears, said David Laut at Kerux Financial. “We won't have all of the answers this week, but worried investors are hungry for clarity.”
Before the chipmaker's results, President Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union address Tuesday evening local time, laying out his administration's priorities for the year ahead.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.03%. The dollar wavered. Gold retreated after four days of gains, while oil fell for a third day.
In Asia-Pacific, an Australian inflation report is forecast to show a slight easing in the headline growth rate, though it will likely remain above the central bank's target band. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged.
The yen was steady in early trading, following declines on Tuesday as local media reported that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi voiced apprehension over more rate hikes in a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda last week.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Hang Seng futures rose 0.8% as of 7:22 a.m. Tokyo time
- S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.7%
- Nikkei 225 futures rose 1.1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $64,164.2
- Ether rose 0.3% to $1,859.64
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.03%
- Australia's 10-year yield rose one basis point to 4.70%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to settle at $65.63 a barrel on Tuesday
- Spot gold fell 1.5% to $5,151.17 an ounce
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