Asian stocks track Wall Street’s Nvidia-led rally

A TV reporter stands in front of a large screen showing stock prices at the Tokyo Stock Exchange after market opens in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File photo

HONG KONG  -Asian shares rallied on Thursday after blockbuster results from tech darling Nvidia boosted Wall Street and a retreat in U.S. bond yields eased pressure on borrowing costs globally.

A round of soft manufacturing surveys had also revived hopes central banks were done tightening, though that might change depending on what clues about interest rates Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives at an annual central bank summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

“Equities rallied and bond yields retreated as flash PMI data for August signaled weaker economic activity in the U.S., euro area and UK, fueling market expectations that central banks may not have to raise rates again,” said analysts at ANZ in a note.

“This week’s Jackson Hole Symposium remains firmly in focus for markets … We expect (Powell) will err on the side of caution with respect to inflation, noting some signs of improvement but still with a long way to go.”

European markets were set for a higher open, with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 1.7 percent, German DAX futures rising 0.6 percent and FTSE futures adding 0.5 percent.

READ: Euro falls on gloomy PMI data, dollar hits 2-month high

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.7 percent, also lifted by Nvidia’s bullish outlook.

The index is however down 8.1 percent so far this month due to the weakness in China’s economy and yuan, as well as some gloomy factory readings from Japan, which also left sentiment fragile.

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, rose 0.77 percent.

Australian shares edged up 0.63 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.81 percent, in a fourth straight session of gains on Thursday, the longest streak since mid-June.

China stocks also rebounded on Thursday with blue-chip CSI300 index advancing 1.28 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 2.1 percent in afternoon trade as some investors bought the dip following recent slumps.

The yuan inched higher against the dollar, as the central bank continued to fix the daily mid-point at stronger-than-expected levels.

“With the Chinese currency edging higher today, foreign capital has flowed back into and helped stabilise China’s stock markets,” Zhang Zihua, chief investment officer at Beijing Yunyi Asset Management. “A rally in the broader Asian markets following Nvidia’s forecast has also lifted sentiment.”

Foreign investors bought a net 2.9 billion yuan ($398.78 million) of Chinese shares so far in the day, snapping a 13-day selling streak.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended sharply higher across the board as shares of Nvidia jumped nearly 10 percent in trading after the bell, hitting an all-time high after it forecast third-quarter revenue well above Wall Street targets.

READ:  Indexes end sharply higher; Nvidia jumps again after the bell

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.54 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.59 percent.

In U.S. Treasuries, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes reached 4.2076 percent compared with its U.S. close of 4.198 percent on Wednesday when it eased from near 16-year highs after weak business activity data from the United States and the euro zone.

The two-year yield, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.9885 percent compared with a U.S. close of 4.952 percent.

In currency markets, the dollar index stayed flat at 103.35 in afternoon Asia trade after hitting a two-month high of 103.4 against a basket of major currencies.

The yen recovered to 145.165 after hitting a nine-month trough of 145.34 amid talk from a former Bank of Japan official that Japan will only intervene in the market if the currency plunges past 150 to the dollar.

U.S. crude dipped 0.06 percent to $78.84 a barrel. Brent crude fell to $83.2 per barrel.

Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at $1,919.5 per ounce.