ORLANDO, Florida, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Stocks advanced solidly for a second day on Wednesday, powered again by a rebound in tech, while investors’ appetite for assets that have been beaten down recently also extended to precious metals and bitcoin.
More on that below. In my column today, I look at the ‘AI doom bubble’ and the proliferation of doomsday scenarios sketched out in long-form blogs online that have gone viral. Perhaps it’s time to deflate this particular bubble?
If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
Today’s Key Market Moves
Today’s Talking Points
* Nvidia delivers
Nvidia’s quarterly earnings now rival U.S. jobs and inflation data as among the most important market-moving releases in the world. The most valuable company in history, with a market cap of over $4 trillion, has just released its Q4 results.
Once again, it looks like Nvidia delivered. Revenue of $68.13 billion beat forecasts, and the company said it expects that to rise to $78 billion this quarter, which would be higher than analysts’ average estimate of $72.6 billion.
* Surprises and non-surprises in Japan
Japan’s government on Wednesday nominated two academics to join the Bank of Japan’s board, both essentially seen as policy doves. This may come as a disappointment to those who thought the BOJ is finally on the path to policy normalization.
It isn’t that surprising though. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was elected on a promise to spend big, and has nominated economic ‘reflationists’ to several other roles in government. What’s more surprising is ex-BOJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda calling for more rate hikes and tighter fiscal policy.
* EM bullishness off the charts
Even the biggest emerging market bulls couldn’t have predicted how explosive the start to this year would be. South Korean stocks are the standout, up 45% year to date, but the MSCI EM index is up 14%, and MSCI Asia ex-Japan is up 12%.
Financial conditions across EM are the loosest in four years, according to Goldman Sachs, with a virtuous cycle of strong domestic equity markets, a soft dollar and stable Treasuries feeding on itself. One might wonder, what is the circuit breaker, and when will it be tripped?
What could move markets tomorrow?
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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