Stocks Rise As Traders Shake Off Nvidia Doubts: Markets Wrap

Stocks shook off an initial drag from Nvidia Corp.’s sales outlook missing lofty expectations, indicating that momentum behind the record-breaking rally remains intact.

S&P 500 futures erased early losses, signaling the US benchmark will advance from Wednesday’s all-time high. Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.3%, buoyed by automakers and mining stocks. A gauge for Asian equities eked out gains.

In global debt markets, the yield on 30-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 4.89% as pressure on long-dated debt eased. European bonds staged a broad advance. The dollar was little changed.

Investors turned to Nvidia’s earnings for insight into the artificial intelligence boom that has driven equity gains this year. Although its revenue forecast pointed to a slowdown after two years of surging AI investment, management pushed back against the idea that demand for AI infrastructure is waning. 

After recent headwinds in China tied to global trade tensions, any signs of fresh momentum there would be a further tailwind for the stock, noted Filip Andersson of Danske Bank A/S.

Any pickup in China “will be pure upside from the current forecast and if not, this is a one-off and not a sign of structural deceleration to growth,” Andersson wrote. “As a result, US futures are handling this report well.”

In Japan, a two-year government bond auction Thursday met demand that was weaker than the 12-month average, as investors remain wary of the risk that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this year.  

Elsewhere, Indian stocks fell as much as 0.8% after Trump’s latest tariffs on the country’s exports to the US took effect. In other tariff news, Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa canceled his US visit at the last minute on Thursday, due to issues that still need to be debated at the administrative level, according to the Cabinet Office. 

Corporate News:

• Pernod Ricard SA expects sales to decline in the beginning of its next financial year, as it continues to grapple with trade friction in China and the US.

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has raised its stakes in Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., according to the Japanese trading houses, prompting a jump in shares across the sector.

• HP Inc. gave a profit outlook for the current quarter that was in line with expectations, but investors remain concerned about the impact of economic uncertainty and higher costs tied to Trump’s trade policies.

• Qantas Airways Ltd. shares jumped 11% after the company reported a 15% rise in full-year earnings and ordered more Airbus SE jets as demand for flights shows little sign of faltering.

• CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. dropped after reporting strong results but narrowly missing analysts’ estimates for sales in the current quarter.

• Snowflake Inc. shares jumped in extended trading after giving a strong outlook that overcame anxiety that software vendors will be hurt as the economy slows and new artificial intelligence companies take away business.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% as of 8:31 a.m. London time

• S&P 500 futures were little changed

• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed

• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed

• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.5%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro was little changed at $1.1638

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.32 per dollar

• The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 7.1385 per dollar

• The British pound was little changed at $1.3495

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $113,090.48

• Ether fell 0.5% to $4,571.32

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.21%

• Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.68%

• Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.70%

Commodities

• Brent crude fell 0.6% to $67.64 a barrel

• Spot gold was little changed