MSCI’s Asia Pacific index gained 0.6% in early trade, with South Korea’s Kospi, widely viewed as a benchmark for AI-linked investment, leading regional gains and jumping 2.22%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.41%, while the broader Topix index added 0.32%. Hang Seng futures bucked the trend, slipping 0.2%.
The Japanese yen held steady at 159.19 per dollar, and the offshore yuan traded largely flat at 6.7210 per dollar.
The rally traced back to Nvidia, whose shares surged 4.2% in extended US trading after the chipmaker projected strong sales growth heading into 2028. That forecast reassured investors that spending on AI infrastructure remained strong, easing worries that the sector’s investment boom had begun to fade. Marvell Technology and Sandisk also climbed in after-hours dealing bolstered by Nvidia’s guidance.
In the US, futures pointed higher ahead of the open. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 Index rose 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures added 0.6%. Even so, investors seemed to maintain concerns over whether heavy AI related spending could keep translating into earnings growth following a choppy period for technology shares.
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The bond markets stayed cautious, according to a Bloomberg report as traders raised the odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase this year after a closely watched US inflation measure held above the central bank’s target. Short-dated Treasuries lagged in US trading and the dollar strengthened, with money markets now fully pricing in a hike by December.
The Bloomberg report noted that the core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out food and energy costs, rose 0.2% on the month and 3.3% from a year earlier, while inflation-adjusted consumer spending stayed flat after advancing in May and June.The broader PCE gauge climbed 3.7% year-on-year, well above the Fed’s 2% goal, adding to signs of a slowing US economy in July and strengthening the case for the central bank to hold rates steady for now, it said.
Brent crude extended its slide to around $87.20 a barrel as traders balanced diplomatic progress in West Asia while the tensions between Russia and Ukraine seemed to escalate, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.7% to $81.67 a barrel.
