Tech Giant Nvidia Powers Asian Market Gains Following Wall Street Rally

Stock markets across Asia posted strong gains Thursday, riding the momentum from a Wall Street surge driven by semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia. The chip maker's shares climbed after announcing a major partnership with Meta for artificial intelligence data centers.

Stock markets throughout Asia climbed Thursday, following a strong performance on Wall Street powered by semiconductor leader Nvidia.

However, U.S. market futures dipped slightly while crude oil prices increased amid growing media speculation about potential military confrontation with Iran.

President Donald Trump continues to evaluate possible military action against Iran while his administration increases military presence in the region and maintains indirect negotiations with Tehran regarding its nuclear activities. These developments have sparked fears that any military strike could escalate into broader Middle Eastern warfare.

Trading remained suspended in Greater China due to Lunar New Year celebrations, though several other regional markets resumed operations.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8% to reach 57,582.93, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.8% to 5,661.22 as trading resumed after earlier holiday closures.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to finish at 9,088.70.

Markets across Southeast Asia showed strong performance, with Thailand’s SET rising 0.9%. India’s Sensex posted modest gains of 0.1%.

During Wednesday’s European session, London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.2% following fresh inflation data that strengthened predictions the Bank of England might reduce interest rates soon.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 increased 0.6% to 6,881.31 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 49,662.66. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.8% to 22,753.63.

Nvidia drove market gains with a 1.6% increase after Meta Platforms revealed an extensive partnership utilizing millions of Nvidia chips and additional hardware for Meta’s artificial intelligence data facilities.

“No one deploys AI at Meta’s scale,” stated Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Given Nvidia’s position as Wall Street’s most valuable company, its stock movement served as the primary force driving the S&P 500 upward.

This performance highlighted artificial intelligence development’s positive impact on U.S. markets. However, investors have recently concentrated on AI’s potential negative effects, creating volatile price movements.

Meta’s shares initially dropped as much as 1.7% before bouncing back to close up 0.6%.

Another concern involves AI’s potential to develop cost-effective tools for complex tasks, which could threaten businesses across diverse sectors including software development, legal services, and transportation logistics. Investors have rapidly sold shares of companies perceived as vulnerable, adopting what analysts describe as a “shoot first-ask questions later” approach.

Multiple corporate earnings reports contributed to Wednesday’s stock gains, extending what has been a robust reporting period for major S&P 500 companies.

Beyond earnings announcements, Moderna soared 6.1% after announcing that Food and Drug Administration regulators would review its flu vaccine candidate following an earlier rejection.

In bond markets, Treasury yields increased following economic reports that exceeded economist predictions. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.08% from Tuesday’s close of 4.05%.

One report showed industrial production expanded more than anticipated last month. Another indicated orders for computers, fabricated metal products, and other durable manufactured goods rose beyond December forecasts when excluding aircraft and transportation equipment. A third report revealed homebuilders started construction on more new homes in December than expected.

Such robust economic data might encourage the Federal Reserve to maintain current interest rates.

The Fed has paused rate reductions, though many Wall Street observers anticipate resumption later this year. The prevailing expectation points to summer timing, coinciding with a new Fed chair’s scheduled appointment.

Wednesday’s released minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting revealed many officials prefer seeing further inflation decline before supporting additional rate cuts this year.

Reduced rates can stimulate economic growth and investment prices, but risk intensifying inflation.

In early Thursday trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 30 cents to $65.36 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased 27 cents to $70.62.

Gold and silver prices remained stable.

Bitcoin’s value declined 1.3% to approximately $67,000.