European stocks and US equity futures rose as investors awaited earnings from Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the heart of this year’s hype around artificial intelligence.
(Bloomberg) — European stocks and US equity futures rose as investors awaited earnings from Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the heart of this year’s hype around artificial intelligence.
Miners led the gains in Europe, with Anglo American Plc among those advancing as iron ore rose for a fifth day amid increasing speculation Chinese steel mills will ramp up output. The steel-making staple has jumped 12% since last Wednesday.
Contracts for US equities advanced more than 0.3% ahead of Nvidia’s results, due later. The S&P 500 had extended its August slide Tuesday as banks dropped after S&P Global Ratings joined Moody’s Investors Service in cutting some US lenders amid a “tough” climate.
Analysts are predicting that Nvidia’s second-quarter revenue may come in higher than the forecast it gave three months ago. The options market is also bracing for a move of about 10% following the results. With Nvidia accounting for over 3% of the S&P 500, the stock action will possibly have broader implications. The shares briefly touched an all-time high Tuesday.
“Anything less than absolutely fantastic could trigger a sharp downside correction in Nvidia’s stock price, which rallied 345% since the October dip,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
A gauge of Asian equities edged higher, with mainland Chinese stocks under pressure again despite fresh signs of an earnings recovery among the country’s tech giants.
Treasuries gained, with the 10-year paper rising for a second day. Wider markets are also marking time ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday. A resilient US economy has prompted investors to position for the Fed to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Powell is set to speak at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. Investors will look to the highly anticipated remarks for clues on the outlook for interest rates, which the Fed last month lifted to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.
“The market is in a wait-and-see mode for the main catalysts this week: Nvidia earnings and Jackson Hole,” said Ulrich Urbahn, head of multi-asset strategy and research at Berenberg. “Given the strong yield increase since July, the Jackson Hole meeting is of particular interest for investors.”
US PMI figures measuring August activity due later Wednesday will provide the latest insights on the strength of the economy. “While business conditions remain expansive for now, an overarching trend of economic deceleration persists due to the ongoing restrictive monetary policy, which could potentially result in lower PMI readings in the coming periods,” economists at Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg said in a note.
The greenback weakened against all Group-of-10 currencies. The offshore yuan advanced after the People’s Bank of China once again maintained support for the currency.
Back in Asia, Baidu Inc. rallied more than 5% after its revenue rose the most in more than a year. The company reported a larger-than-projected jump in sales for the June quarter and its net income rose 43%.
Key events this week:
- Eurozone S&P Global Services & Manufacturing PMI, consumer confidence, Wednesday
- UK S&P Global / CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
- US new home sales, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
- US initial jobless claims, durable goods, Thursday
- Kansas City Fed’s annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole begins, Thursday
- Japan Tokyo CPI, Friday
- US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde to address Jackson Hole conference, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% as of 8:08 a.m. London time
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.4%
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3%
- The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
- The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0860
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 145.68 per dollar
- The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 7.2955 per dollar
- The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2754
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $26,038.28
- Ether rose 0.8% to $1,644.31
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.29%
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.63%
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.62%
Commodities
- Brent crude fell 0.3% to $83.79 a barrel
- Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,902.93 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Brett Miller and Farah Elbahrawy.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.