HONG KONG — Asian markets largely rose on Friday after Nvidia posted stunning results, sparking a rally in other tech companies that lifted Wall Street to a new record high.
Tokyo’s markets were closed for a holiday, a day after rising to a record high.
US futures rose while oil prices fell.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell less than 0.1% to 16,728.00 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.4% to 3,001.38.
Government data showed little sign of recovery in China’s property market on Wednesday, as prices of new homes in top-tier cities fell 0.4% in January from a month earlier, continuing a downward trend.
The real estate sector accounts for almost a third of China’s economic activity and the crisis across the sector has weighed on growth and undermined the confidence of both investors and consumers.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets were mostly higher.
The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,643.60, and Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,670.40.
In India, the Sensex gained 0.2% and Bangkok’s SET fell 0.2%.
On Thursday the S&The P500 rose 2.1% to 5,087.03, a record high. The Nasdaq rose 3% to 16,041.62.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has a smaller weighting in technology stocks, rose 1.2% to 39,069.11. That marks the first close above 39,000.
Nvidia’s stock price rose Thursday after delivering another explosive quarter, sparking a rally among other tech companies that took Wall Street to new all-time highs.
The chipmaker, which rose 16.4%, reported scorching demand for its semiconductors. The stock price has tripled in the past year thanks to an increase in investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Synopsis, which makes software used to test and develop chips, rose 6.9% after raising its profit forecast.
Other chipmakers and companies involved in the chip industry also gained ground. Advanced Micro Devices rose 10.7% and Lam Research rose 4.7%.
Technology stocks have been the driving force behind the market rally that started in October. Solid earnings from some of the biggest names in the industry are helping to justify and amplify these gains.
Wall Street expects earnings growth of just under 4% in the overall S&P500 during the fourth quarter. The communications services sector, which includes Google’s parent company Alphabet, is expected to report 45% growth. Information technology companies, including Nvidia, are expected to achieve 22% growth.
“The momentum in AI-related stocks is likely to continue in the near term,” said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Nearly 90% of companies in the S&P500 reported income. There are a few more big names to report in the coming weeks, including Lowe’s, Dollar Tree and Best Buy.
Wall Street’s focus on earnings this week follows the previous week’s economic data, which sparked a market stumble. Inflation figures came in hotter than Wall Street expected, while retail sales fell more than expected. That led to concerns about the timing of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cuts.
Wall Street is now betting that the central bank will start cutting rates in June, rather than March.
Investors could get more clarity on inflation next week when the government releases its monthly report on personal consumption and spending, the Fed’s preferred measure. The Fed is trying to get inflation back to its 2% target. Analysts expect this report to show that inflation cooled to 2.3% in January. In June 2022, it peaked at 7.1%.
Bond yields were relatively stable. The yield on the 10-year government bond rose to 4.33% from 4.32% late Wednesday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 51 cents to $78.10 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 40 cents to $82.30 a barrel.
The US dollar traded at 150.65 Japanese yen, up slightly from 150.51 yen. The euro rose from $1.0827 to $1.0831.