TOKYO — Global stock markets displayed mixed results on Thursday as investors shifted their focus to forthcoming economic data from the U.S. following Nvidia’s earnings report.
France’s CAC 40 rose by 0.4% in early trading, reaching 7,607.05. Germany’s DAX remained stable, edging up less than 0.1% to 18,798.50. Britain’s FTSE 100 increased by 0.2% to 8,361.47. In the U.S., futures suggested a mostly positive opening, with Dow futures up 0.4% at 41,345.00 while S&P 500 futures remained virtually unchanged at 5,608.50.
Nvidia, a key player benefiting from the surge in artificial intelligence interest, reported robust earnings on Wednesday.
Despite a strong profit announcement, Nvidia’s stock dropped 2.1%, although it has surged 153% year-to-date and holds a market capitalization exceeding $3 trillion.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell slightly by less than 0.1% to 38,362.53. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.3% to 8,045.10, and South Korea’s Kospi declined by 1.0% to 2,662.28. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 17,786.32, while the Shanghai Composite recorded a 0.5% drop to 2,823.11.
Investor sentiment remained cautious despite the announcement that a phone call would be scheduled between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming weeks, with concerns over Taiwan tensions growing.
Looking ahead, market participants are preparing for the release of the latest U.S. inflation data on Friday, with the PCE index for July expected to show a slight increase in inflation to 2.6%, up from 2.5% in June.
This foray into inflation comes as the Federal Reserve continues to monitor consumer resilience amidst inflationary pressures and high borrowing costs, with potential interest rate reductions anticipated at the next meeting in September.
In energy markets, U.S. crude increased by 21 cents to $74.73 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 15 cents to $78.80 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar strengthened to 144.56 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen, while the euro traded at $1.1109, down from $1.1122.
