Nvidia Looms as Asia Extends AI-Fueled Rally

Nvidia is in focus ahead of results as investors weigh whether it can extend Wall Street’s volatile AI-driven rebound. Asian markets climbed, with South Korea and Taiwan advancing strongly and Japan’s Nikkei continuing a robust year-to-date surge amid improving earnings sentiment. The dollar eased slightly, Treasury yields edged higher and oil prices firmed after diplomatic remarks on Iran. U.S. markets showed resilience despite muted reaction to President Trump’s State of the Union.

Equities

The FTSE 100 closed flat on Tuesday, with gains in miners and utilities offset by weakness in financial stocks. The FTSE 250 slipped 0.1% by the close. Industrial metal miners provided support, with Rio Tinto and Glencore each rising more than 1% as copper prices reached their highest level in over a week.

Among individual names, Convatec jumped 10.3% on Tuesday after the medical equipment maker raised its medium-term organic revenue growth target, citing a stronger product pipeline. Croda climbed 7.6% after the speciality chemicals group projected stronger profit margins by 2028 as it continues to streamline operations following softer demand last year linked to US tariffs. Standard Chartered fell 1.4% despite reporting higher full-year pre-tax profit, announcing a $1.5 billion share buyback and lifting its annual dividend by 65%. Banks across the index were weaker, leaving the sector down 0.5%.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said a March rate cut was possible but cautioned that services inflation remains elevated. Investors were also watching developments in US trade policy after Washington began collecting a temporary 10% global import tariff, with the administration signalling it may seek to raise that rate.

On Wall Street, all three major indices closed higher on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.76%, the S&P 500 gained 0.77% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.05%. Semiconductor stocks led the advance. Advanced Micro Devices surged 8.8% after announcing a deal to supply up to $60 billion in AI chips to Meta Platforms over five years, with the social media group also taking the option to buy up to 10% of AMD. Meta edged 0.3% higher.

Keysight Technologies leapt 23.1% after forecasting second-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations. FactSet rose 5.9% and US-listed Thomson Reuters shares jumped 11.5% following announcements from AI firm Anthropic about new plug-ins developed with corporate partners including Salesforce, which gained 4.1%. Home Depot closed 2.0% higher after beating fourth-quarter estimates and reaffirming its full-year outlook.

Forex & Commodities

The Japanese yen remained under pressure in Asian trade on Wednesday, hovering around 155.8 per dollar after touching 156.3 overnight, its weakest level in two weeks. The move followed reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had expressed reservations about further rate rises to the Bank of Japan governor, alongside the nomination of two academics viewed as tolerant of higher inflation to the central bank’s board. The US dollar was slightly softer more broadly, with the euro trading at 1.180 against the dollar and sterling at 1.352.

The Australian dollar moved higher early this morning to 0.7109 after inflation data surprised to the upside, prompting markets to reassess the outlook for interest rates. The New Zealand dollar edged up to 0.5983, while China’s yuan held firm near 6.878 per dollar in offshore trade after the US Supreme Court struck down a number of President Trump’s tariffs, raising expectations of a lower overall levy on Chinese goods.

Spot gold climbed in Asian hours to 5,186 per ounce as investors reacted to ongoing uncertainty over US trade policy and tensions with Iran. Silver rose to 90.32 per ounce, its highest level in three weeks, while platinum reached 2,270 and palladium traded at 1,801.

Oil prices held near seven-month highs. Brent crude traded at 71.19 per barrel and US WTI at 66.04 early on Wednesday, supported by concerns over potential supply disruption ahead of further US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva. Later today, official US oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration are due, following a sharp reported build in crude stockpiles from the American Petroleum Institute.