Asian Stocks Rise, Technology Firms Rally: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks rose at the open, poised for their fourth gain in five weeks, as optimism around artificial intelligence propelled global equities to fresh records.
Japanese Stocks Lead the Way
Stocks in Japan gained 1% with Hitachi Ltd. and Renesas Electronics Ltd. among the winners. This came after global equities closed at all-time highs with technology stocks jumping on OpenAI’s share sale.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. surged 3.6% in US trading to the highest level in more than four years, while a gauge of Chinese tech shares in the US rose 1.1% to a three-year high.
Tech Momentum Shows No Signs of Fading
“Tech momentum shows no sign of fading — as if gravity doesn’t exist — with headwinds brushed aside and every AI headline sparking bursts of euphoria,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne.
Impact on Indian Investors
So, what does this mean for Indian investors? With the Indian stock market closely tied to global trends, a rise in Asian stocks could have a positive impact on the Indian market. Indian stock market investors should keep a close eye on these developments.
US Government Shutdown and Trade Talks
The moves were a sign that the bullish momentum in US tech overcame concerns linked to the Trump administration’s plan to slash “thousands” of federal jobs in the second day of a government shutdown. Republicans sought to use the threat of permanent cuts to encourage Democrats to vote to reopen the government.
US President Donald Trump plans to meet with White House Budget Director Russell Vought to discuss the plan. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted a “pretty big breakthrough” in the next round of trade talks with China.
Commodity Markets and Economic Data
In commodity markets, gold edged higher while oil was on track for its biggest weekly decline since late June, ahead of an OPEC+ meeting that’s expected to result in the return of more idled barrels, exacerbating concerns around oversupply.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls data on Friday will also likely be delayed due to the government shutdown. Money markets are still almost fully pricing a quarter-point Fed cut at the end of the month and are widely expecting another in December to support the labor market.
Key Market Moves
- S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:46 a.m. Tokyo time
- Hang Seng futures fell 0.4%
- Japan’s Topix rose 0.9%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was little changed at $1.1721
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.33 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1342 per dollar
- Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $120,304.9
- Ether fell 0.5% to $4,472.92
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.09%
- Australia’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.32%
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $60.61 a barrel
- Spot gold was little changed
For more information on the Indian stock market and how to navigate global trends, check out our stock market news section.
