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Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Wednesday tracking a strong overnight session on Wall Street, as investors cheered President Donald Trump’s postponement of steep trade tariffs against Europe.
Technology stocks led gains for the day, buoyed by stellar earnings from China’s Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) (HK:1810), and as investors piled into the sector before earnings from artificial intelligence major NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which are due later today.
Gains in Asian markets came tracking a sharp overnight jump in Wall Street, as investors also cheered some signs of stability in the bond market. U.S. stock index futures were flat in regional trade, with S&P 500 Futures steady around 5,934.0 points after the S&P 500 surged over 2%.
Some regional markets also lagged, with Australian shares rising marginally after a strong consumer inflation print.
Chinese shares moved in a flat-to-low range as weak earnings from ecommerce giant PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD) added to concerns over sustained deflation and weak consumer spending in the country.
Tech stocks advance with Nvidia earnings in focus
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%, while South Korea’s KOSPI rallied 1.8% to a nine-month high on outsized gains in technology stocks.
Japan’s Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857)- an Nvidia supplier- rose 2.2%, while South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930), who both supply Nvidia with memory chips– rose 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively.
Taiwan’s TSMC (TW:2330) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317) (Foxconn) rose about 0.5% each.
Investors were seen piling into tech, especially in chipmakers and AI-tangential stocks, as they positioned for a strong earnings print from Nvidia.
The AI major is set to report earnings after the U.S. close on Wednesday, and is forecast to clock strong earnings and revenue growth, as it continued to benefit from outsized spending on AI infrastructure, especially by major U.S. companies.
But focus will be on Nvidia’s outlook on AI demand and China, especially as the company grapples with stricter U.S. restrictions on chip exports to Beijing.
China shares lag, deflation concerns outweigh strong Xiaomi earnings
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell marginally, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3%.
Concerns over Chinese deflation and weak consumer spending came to fore this week following weak earnings from ecommerce major PDD. The company’s first-quarter profit nearly halved as local sales suffered from heightened competition and weak spending, while its international business, specifically budget marketplace Temu, was hit by heightened uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs.
PDD’s weak print comes just a week after ecommerce major Alibaba’s earnings underwhelmed.
Concerns over deflation largely offset a strong showing from Xiaomi, which clocked a record first quarter profit. Xiaomi’s shares rose 1.6% in Hong Kong trade.
Broader Asian markets mostly advanced, although gains were limited in several markets. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.2%, lagging its regional peers as mildly stronger than expected consumer inflation data raised some doubts over when the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates next.
Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 0.4%, while Japan’s TOPIX index rose 0.5%.
Gift Nifty 50 Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.1%, pointing to a weaker open for the index as it struggled to make headway above 25,000 points.