NEW YORK, United States — US markets advanced Friday while European counterparts marked time. This was in response to sharp losses in Asia at the end of a week which saw heightened fears of a bursting AI bubble.
A blockbuster earnings report from chip bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday seemed to soothe concerns that vast investments in the artificial intelligence sector may have been overdone.
But Nvidia shares closed one percent lower on Wall Street as warnings grew that the tech-led rally may have run its course across equities. This had seen several markets hit record highs and companies clock eye-watering capitalizations.
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Adding to unease were mixed US September jobs data released Thursday. This raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve could decide against cutting interest rates in December.
That unease spread to Asia. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all ended the week down almost 2.5 percent at the close.
The clouds began to clear to a degree, however, as the Dow climbed 1.1 percent by end-Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9 percent and the broader-based S&P 500 rose one percent.
“This week’s sharp sell-off in US stocks and cryptocurrencies briefly stalled as Fed December rate cut expectations increased from 41 percent to 73 percent after New York Fed President John Williams suggested the Fed may cut rates again soon,” said Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG.
But Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones added of the central bank: “The fact that we’re not going to get some key data does not make their job easier.”
Fed in a fog
This week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not publish full employment and consumer inflation reports for the month of October. Meanwhile November figures will only be released after the next central bank interest rate meeting.
This adds to the fog that Fed officials have to navigate as they mull their next rate decision.
Europe lacked direction as London ended just a sliver in the green. Paris was flat — although Ubisoft provided a glimmer of light — while Frankfurt lost 0.8 percent.
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French video game company Ubisoft resumed trading in Paris. This was a week after stunning investors by postponing its results announcement without an explanation. This triggered speculation in the video gaming world.
The “Assassin’s Creed” maker said Friday the move was due to a simple “restatement” of its half-yearly results. This was after new auditors found problems with the way it had accounted for a partnership.
The rush from risk assets saw digital currency bitcoin hit a seven-month low at $81,569.79 before pulling back to around $84,490. This extended a sell-off suffered since its record high above $126,200 last month.
“The price action across markets has been prolific, and we’ve seen some truly impressive reversals in risk assets,” said analyst Chris Weston at broker Pepperstone.
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“Sentiment in so many markets remains highly challenged, and we’ve seen new evidence that managers are dumping their 2025 winners — raising expectations that the path of least resistance is for risk to trade lower in the near-term,” he added. AFP