Japan’s Nikkei rallies, Wall Street futures gain on strong earnings
Six of the “Magnificent Seven” U.S. tech megacaps have reported so far, with Nvidia scheduled to report in three weeks
Asian stock markets are poised to see shares set a seventh consecutive month of gains on Friday, following strong earnings from Amazon and Apple that lifted Wall Street futures, while the U.S. dollar remained near three-month highs amid uncertainty over additional Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Nasdaq futures surged 1.09 percent, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.59 percent as Amazon’s impressive earnings drove its shares up 13.16 percent in after-hours trading, adding over $300 billion to its market value.
Japan’s Nikkei climbs 1.72 percent
In the U.S. stock market, Apple also gained 2.34 percent in after-hours trading after its iPhone sales outlook exceeded expectations, offsetting losses from Meta and Microsoft amid concerns over their rising AI expenditures.
Six of the “Magnificent Seven” U.S. tech megacaps have reported so far, delivering mixed results, with Nvidia—the world’s first $5 trillion company—scheduled to report in three weeks.
In the Asian stock market, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.39 percent on Friday. However, the index was still set for a weekly gain of 1.8 percent and a monthly increase of 4.7 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.72 percent, extending its weekly and monthly gains to over 5.2 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively.
Chinese stocks fall on slower factory activity
Meanwhile, Chinese stocks underperformed after a weak reading on factory activity in October dampened sentiment. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to a six-month low of 49, below the forecast of 49.6.
Chinese blue chips dropped 1.28 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.97 percent.
The highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping resulted in reduced U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, the resumption of U.S. soybean purchases by China and continued Chinese rare earth exports. However, stock market reactions were relatively muted, as the meeting was seen more as a tactical truce than a significant reset in bilateral relations.
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Fed Chair’s comments send U.S. dollar to near three-month high
This week, key central bank meetings largely met market expectations, with the main surprise coming from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who challenged the market’s optimistic assumptions of a rate cut in December. A rise in Treasury yields this week supported the U.S. dollar, which was holding near three-month highs at 99.52 against its major peers.
The euro gained 0.1 percent to $1.1572 after the European Central Bank kept interest rates steady at 2 percent for the third consecutive meeting on Thursday, reiterating that policy remains in a “good place” as economic risks ease.
In commodities, oil prices fell, heading for a third consecutive monthly decline, as a stronger dollar capped commodity gains and increased output from major producers offset the impact of Western sanctions on Russian exports. Brent crude futures dropped 0.5 percent to $64.67 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 0.6 percent to $60.22 a barrel.
Meanwhile, spot gold held onto a 2.4 percent overnight gain at $4,033.48 per ounce, but remained nearly 2 percent lower for the week and well below last week’s record high of $4,381.
