Asian stocks boosted by rate cut bets, tech tracks Nvidia rally

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday amid increased optimism over lower interest rates across the globe, while regional technology shares surged tracking overnight gains in artificial intelligence darling Nvidia. 

Regional markets took positive cues from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite closed at record highs. Gains were in part driven by weak labor market data, which ramped up hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by September. 

A rate cut by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday, and anticipation of a widely expected cut by the European Central Bank on Thursday also ramped up optimism over lower lending rates across the globe.

U.S. stock index futures rose slightly in Asian trade, with focus on more labor market data.

Asian tech, chipmakers track Nvidia rally 

Tech-heavy indexes were the best performers in Asian trade on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3%.

Stocks with exposure to chipmaking rose after market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) rallied to a $3 trillion valuation on Wednesday, amid persistent hype over AI. Sentiment towards chipmakers was also supported by reports of positive comments from ASML Holding NV (AS:ASML), the world’s biggest maker of semiconductor equipment. 

Markets bet that increased demand for AI will help drive up global semiconductor demand.

TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM)- the biggest contract chipmaker in the world and a top Nvidia supplier- surged 5% to a record high in Taiwan trade. 

Japanese semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857), which is also a Nvidia supplier, surged 5.2%. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (HK:0981)- the biggest chipmaker in China, surged 3.7%  in Hong Kong trade.

Broader Asian markets also advanced. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.8% even as trade data showed the country’s key exports weakened in April, while imports tumbled on weak demand.

Japan’s TOPIX index added 0.8%. 

Chinese stocks lagged as a rebound rally between February and May ran out of steam. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1%.

Indian stocks in focus after post-election rebound 

Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a mildly negative open on Thursday, after the index and the BSE Sensex 30 clocked wild swings this week.

Both indexes rose more than 3% on Wednesday, as they rebounded from a steep sell-off in the prior session after the results of the 2024 general elections showed a BJP-led alliance won by a much smaller majority than expected, while the opposing INDI alliance gained traction.

But analysts remained positive on India’s economy. An upcoming Reserve Bank meeting on Friday was also awaited for more cues on the economy.