Asian markets surged on Thursday in a broad relief rally after Nvidia delivered stronger-than-expected earnings. The upbeat results boosted global risk sentiment, while the U.S. dollar edged higher as traders prepared for the release of long-delayed U.S. jobs data.
Tech-focused markets in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan led the advance. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted exceptional demand for the company’s AI chips from major cloud providers and dismissed concerns about an overheating AI sector. Nvidia also projected quarterly revenue far above Wall Street expectations, easing fears that recent market volatility signaled an AI bubble.
Tony Sycamore of IG in Sydney said Nvidia had “delivered another master class in AI dominance,” a view reflected across regional trading floors. Although gains moderated slightly, Japan’s Nikkei 225 remained up 2.6%, South Korea’s benchmark gained 2.3%, and Taiwan’s market jumped 3.2% as companies in the global AI supply chain posted strong advances.
TSMC climbed 4.3%, Samsung Electronics rose 5.3%, SK Hynix added 2.2%, and Tokyo Electron gained 5.4%.
MSCIs broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 1.1%, rebounding from a one-month low. U.S. S&P 500 e-mini futures added 1.3%. The rebound strengthened after a Reuters report said Washington may delay long-planned semiconductor tariffs to ease tensions with China.
In Europe, pan-regional futures advanced 0.8%. German DAX futures were up 0.7%, and FTSE futures gained 0.6%.
Wall Street had already broken a four-day losing streak on Wednesday, even before Nvidia’s earnings release, as investors reassessed the severity of recent AI-valuation worries.
Chinese markets lagged behind regional peers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, and mainland stocks erased early gains to drop 0.5%.
Japan’s market also reacted to reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is preparing a massive stimulus package, expected to be the largest since the pandemic. Japanese government bonds sold off sharply, pushing yields to new highs.
The U.S. dollar index rose 0.2% to 100.25, close to a two-week peak. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.1406%, compared with 4.131% at Wednesday’s close.
Investors are now turning their attention to the delayed September jobs report, due later Thursday, for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next policy steps. Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting showed officials cut rates despite concerns that further easing could risk fueling inflation and damaging public trust.
Fed futures now show a 33% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the December 10 meeting, down sharply from 50% a day earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. Gavin Friend of National Australia Bank noted that the updated timing of the November jobs report—now delayed until December 16—has driven the shift in expectations. He said the lack of data “supports the Fed’s message that we need to pause.”
The dollar strengthened 0.3% against the yen to 157.585. Japan’s currency has weakened steadily and recently hit a ten-month low, even as domestic bond yields climb. The yen has lost more than 6% since Prime Minister Takaichi took office, partly due to concerns over the scale of borrowing needed to fund her stimulus plans.
The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.1520.
Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude up 0.2% at $63.64 as markets gauged new U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine and assessed restrictions on operations with Russian oil producers.
Cryptocurrencies rebounded after recent declines. Bitcoin gained 1.8% to $92,217.47, while ether rose 1.1% to $3,021.11.
Gold was volatile. Spot prices were last down 0.4% at $4,064.04 after rising earlier in the session.
