HONG KONG — Asian shares largely rose on Friday after post-market gains on Wall Street superstar Nvidia and other companies said they are making even bigger profits than expected.
U.S. futures rose as geopolitical tensions pushed oil prices higher. On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin further escalated the war. announce that Russia had fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine in response to Kiev’s use this week American and British missiles that can penetrate deeper into Russia.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 38,283.85 after national inflation fell to 2.3% in October from 2.5% the previous month, hitting the lowest level since January. The figures will be a key topic at the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting in December, where some investors expect a rise in short-term interest rates from 0.25% to 0.5%.
The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% to 8,393.80. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8% to 2,501.24. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2% to 19,211.17, and the Shanghai Composite fell 3.1% to 3,367.19.
The crypto market will be open from mid-Friday, Asian time bitcoin was trading at $99,285.30.
According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin eclipsed $99,000 for the first time on Thursday before rebounding toward $98,000. So far this year, the figure has more than doubled, and the increase has accelerated since Election Day. President-elect Donald Trump has promised the country “it crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin.
On Thursday the S&The P500 rose 0.5% to 5,948.71 after swinging between gains and losses several times during the day. Banks, smaller companies and other parts of the stock market that tend to do best when the economy is strong have led the way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 43,870.35, and the Nasdaq composite rose less than 0.1% to 18,972.42.
Nvidia then rose only 0.5% exceeded analyst expectations once again looking for profits and sales, but it was still the strongest force driving the S&P500 upwards. The company also provided a forecast for current quarter revenue that exceeded most analysts’ expectations, due to high demand for chips used in artificial intelligence technology.
Nearly 90% of the shares in the S&The P500 advanced on Thursday and gains were even greater among smaller companies. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose a market-leading 1.7%.
Bitcoin got a boost after Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday he would resign in January. Gensler has pushed for more protections for crypto investors.
Bitcoin and related investments have a notorious history of large price swings in both directions. MicroStrategy, a company that raised money specifically to buy bitcoin, saw a 14.6% gain for its shares quickly disappear on Thursday. It ended the day with a loss of 16.2%.
In the bond market, 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4.43% from 4.41% late Wednesday, following some mixed messages about the US economy.
One said Fewer American workers filed for unemployment benefits last week the latest signal that the labor market remains solid. However, another report said production in the mid-Atlantic contracted unexpectedly. The sale of previously occupied homes further strengthened last month than expected.
In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude rose 44 cents to $70.54 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 45 cents to $74.68 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose from 154.52 yen to 154.80 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.0494, up from $1.0479.