Stock Market Today: Asian Stocks Mostly Higher After Wall Street Gains

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets are mostly higher on Friday, following a positive trend on Wall Street, which was fueled by gains from companies like Tesla, IBM, and Meta Platforms after they released strong profit reports.

In the U.S., futures and oil prices showed an upward trend.

Japan's core inflation rate has increased to 2.5% in January, surpassing the central bank's goal of 2%, which opens the door for potential interest rate hikes. Additionally, Japan’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 2.4% in December from the previous 2.5%.

On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei 225 index climbed a little by 0.1%, settling at 39,540.37.

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell by 1.4% to 2,501.83 as trading resumed after the holidays. This drop was exacerbated by panic created in the AI sector due to Chinese startup DeepSeek’s announcements. Notably, shares of SK Hynix, a significant supplier to Nvidia Corp., plummeted by 9.9%, while another tech giant, Samsung, saw a decrease of 2.4%.

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.3% to 8,516.90, and Bangkok's SET rose slightly by 0.1%.

It is worth mentioning that markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai are closed for the lunar new year festivities.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 index rose by 0.5% to reach 6,071.17, with four out of five stocks in the index reporting gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to finish at 44,882.13, and the Nasdaq composite grew by 0.3% to 19,681.75.

Meta Platforms contributed to the positive movement in the market, increasing by 1.6%. The company, known for Facebook and Instagram, reported profits that exceeded analysts' expectations for the end of 2024. Importantly, Meta emphasized its commitment to artificial intelligence, stating it would continue investing in this area, easing concerns heightened by DeepSeek’s announcement.

DeepSeek’s claims of developing a large language model that can compete with top versions without needing high-grade chips raised discussions about the required investments in AI technology and infrastructure, causing brief market turmoil earlier in the week.

The ongoing AI boom has significantly supported the upward trends in the U.S. stock market, yet poses risks for companies like Nvidia, which was primarily down throughout Thursday but ended with a modest gain of 1%.

However, Microsoft’s shares fell by 6.2% after reporting successful profits that surpassed expectations, though a slower-than-expected growth in its cloud computing business overshadowed the good news. This cloud computing sector is crucial to Microsoft’s AI strategies. CEO Satya Nadella commented on DeepSeek’s advancements, acknowledging the benefits of achieving efficiency gains and lower costs within AI development.

Treasury yields remained stable on Thursday, despite a report indicating steady economic growth in the U.S. at the end of 2024. The yield on the 10-year Treasury declined slightly to 4.52% from 4.53% the day before.

Economist Gregory Daco described the economy as “Goldilocks,” suggesting it is neither too strong nor too weak, although he cautioned that various uncertainties in Washington could shift this balance, including potential changes to tax rates, tariffs, and immigration policies.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude oil saw an increase of 55 cents, trading at $73.28 per barrel, while Brent crude rose by 46 cents to $76.35 per barrel.

On the currency exchange, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, rising to 154.42 yen from 154.18 yen. The euro slipped slightly, costing $1.0385, down from $1.0392.

Asia, Markets, Stocks