Asian equities advanced for a fifth day, stretching their lead over US peers this year as relatively cheaper valuations and firmer growth prospects lured buyers. Treasuries held their losses after stronger US jobs data. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7% to a record. The gauge is up around 13% so far this year, its best start to the year relative to the S&P 500 this century. The US gauge is up just 1.4%. South Korea’s benchmark jumped 2.7% to extend its lead as the world’s best-performing market, with Samsung Electronics Co. among the winners. Treasuries continued to trade lower with the yield on the benchmark 10-year at 4.17% as traders pared bets on interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year following the jobs data. Money markets priced in the Fed’s next cut in July, from June previously, after the US economy added 130,000 roles in January, twice the forecast. In what is shaping up to be another blockbuster year, Asia’s markets are outpacing peers in the US and Europe, drawing global investors who have gradually unwound some of their dollar exposures. Investors are positioning for beneficiaries of the artificial-intelligence boom as companies channel billions of dollars into the technology, reshaping and disrupting multiple industries. Much of the focus on Wednesday was on the US jobs data, which indicated strength in the economy. The next key hurdle for markets is Friday’s inflation report, which could reinforce the case for keeping rates higher for longer if price pressures fail to ease. The S&P 500 ended Wednesday flat after a bumpy session with real estate services stocks getting hit in the latest “AI scare trade.” The US benchmark trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 22 times, compared with about 15 times for the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Asia’s strength stands out when investors’ convictions in everything from tech stocks to precious metals and cryptocurrencies are being tested by shifting expectations for US interest rates and uncertainty over AI-driven disruption. Asia is winning favor with investors as the global tech race is shifting from AI pioneers to the enablers of large-scale adoption. Regional firms control critical choke points — from advanced chips and memory to foundry services and assembly — supplying much of the hardware underpinning the AI build-out. In the currency market, the yen outperformed its Group-of-10 peers and Japan’s super-long bonds rallied as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide election victory eased fiscal concerns. Japan’s super-long bonds extended their post-election rally. Gold and silver edged lower, while the dollar slipped for a fifth straight session. In commodities, oil rose as tensions in the Middle East outweighed concerns that there’s a supply glut growing. Nickel extended gains after Indonesia signaled a sharp cut to output this year. Elsewhere, the Republican-led US House passed legislation aimed at ending President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, signaling a growing anxiety over the White House’s economic agenda before midterm elections focused heavily on affordability. However, since joint resolutions must be signed by the president to become law, or passed overwhelmingly to override a veto, it’s unlikely lawmakers can force him to abandon his signature economic policy through legislation alone. US After Hours CSCO -7.1%, ROL -14.7%, QS -11.6%, PAYC -7.6%, INSP -7.3% lower on earnings; FSLY +32.5%, CGNX +23.9%, PRCH +18.9%, MH +18.3%, EQIX +9.9% higher on earnings; NVCR +56.8% as FDA approves Optune Pax; coal stocks strong.
Nikkei -0.02% Hang Seng -0.99% CSI +0.08% Shanghai +0.03% Shenzen +0.54%
Eur$ 1.1867 CNH 6.8994 CNY 6.9023 JPY 152.57 GBP 1.3627 CHF 0.7710 RUB 77.3239 TRY 43.6416 WTI$ 65.03 +0.62% Gold 5,059 -0.50% BTC 67,170 -0.86% ETH 1;968 -0.03%
S&P +0.18% Nasdaq +0.03% EuroStoxx +0.61% FTSE +0.31% Dax +0.37% SMI +0.14%
Macro :
- Anthropic to Cover Electricity Price Boosts From Data Centers
- Commodities Set for 2000s Supercycle? One Country to Watch
- Commodities Set for 2000s Supercycle? One Country to Watch
- Oaktree Raises Record $2.4 Billion for Special Situations Fund
- Trump, Xi Expected to Extend Trade Truce in April Summit: SCMP
- Real Estate Services Stocks Sink in Latest ‘AI Scare Trade’
- UK Prelim 4Q GDP Rises 0.1% Q/q, Est. +0.2%
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ABI BB ; AB InBev 4Q Organic Volume Growth Beats Estimates
- ADYEN NA : Adyen 2H Net Revenue Meets Estimates
- AIR FP : Air Canada Orders Eight Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft
- ALB US : Albemarle Drops on Plan to Idle Lithium Unit at Australia Plant
- AMBEA SS : Ambea 4Q Net Sales Meet Estimates
- AAPL US : Apple CEO Tim Cook Questioned by FTC Chair Over News Curation
- AAPL US : Apple’s Siri revamp reportedly delayed… again - TechCrunch
- ARKO US : Fuel Wholesaler Arko Petroleum Raises $200 Million in US IPO
- ASTS US : AST SpaceMobile Seeks $1 Billion in Convertible Bond Sale
- AUTO NO : Autostore 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- BATS LN : BAT FY Operating Profit Misses Estimates
- BCVN SW : BC Vaudoise FY Operating Profit CHF503M Vs. CHF515M Y/y
- BDT GY : Bertrandt 1Q Ebit EU0.24M Vs. Loss EU2.14M Y/y
- BELL SW : Bell FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- BA US : Boeing Seeing 80% Plunge in Defects From New Wichita Division
- BN CN : Brookfield Acquires Dentsu Tokyo Headquarters Building
- CABP LN : Possible Offer for CAB Payments Holdings PLC
- CAMX SS : Camurus 2026 Revenue Forecast Misses Estimates
- CAPMAN FH : CapMan FY Operating Profit Misses Estimates
- AFX GY : Carl Zeiss Meditec 1Q Revenue Matches Estimates
- CA FP : Carrefour to Sell Carrefour Romania to Paval, Ent. Value €823m
- CBRE US : CBRE, Real Estate Services Peers Fall in Latest ‘AI Scare Trade’
- CSCO US : Cisco Falls as ‘Weak’ Gross Margin Outlook Mars Results
- CVC NA : CVC Capital 4Q Fee Paying AUM EU148B
- DAE SW : Daetwyler FY Net Revenue Misses Estimates
- DB1 GY : Deutsche Boerse to Buy General Atlantic’s 20% ISS Stoxx Stake
- NRGV US : Energy Vault Said to Offer Up to 5.25% Coupon on Convert Sale
- EMBRACB SS : Embracer 3Q Adjusted Ebit SEK528M
- EQIX US : GIC Is Said to Mull Sale of Stake in European Data Center JV
- FLOW NA : Flow Traders 4Q Net Trading Income Beats Estimates
- FFARM NA : ForFarmers JV in Poland, KPS Assets to be Merged in New JV
- FRA GY : Fraport Jan. Frankfurt Airport Passengers +4.9%
- 175 HK : Geely Holding Boosts Stake in Volvo Car
- GRAB US : Grab Holdings 4Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- GNC LN : Greencore Holder LongRange Capital Offers 30.3m Shares: Terms
- RMS FP : Hermes 4Q Sales at Constant Exchange Rates Beat Estimates
- HEX NO : Hexagon Composites 4Q Total Rev. & Other Income Beats Estimates
- HUBS US : HubSpot 1Q Adjusted EPS Forecast Beats Estimates
- IPN FP : Ipsen Sees 2026 Sales at Constant Exchange Rates Above +13%
- KBC BB : KBC 4Q Net Interest Income Beats Estimates
- KEMIRA FH : Kemira Sees 2026 Revenue EU2.60B to EU3.00B, Est. EU2.87B
- KWS GY : KWS Saat 1H Ebit Loss EU96.8M Vs. Loss EU120.7M Y/y
- LR FP : Legrand 4Q Organic Revenue Beats Estimates
- LEON SW : Leonteq FY Operating Income Misses Estimates
- LIAB SS : Lindab FY Dividend per Share Beats Estimates
- MANTA FH : Mandatum FY Dividend per Share Beats Estimates
- MEKKO FH : Marimekko 4Q Net Sales Miss Estimates
- MEKO SS : Meko 4Q Ebit SEK103M Vs. SEK127M Y/y
- MAT US : Mattel Shares Plunge After Holiday Results Miss Estimates (-25%)
- MELI US : MercadoLibre to Sell Assai Goods by End-March: Reuters
- MBG GY : Mercedes Sees 2026 Cars Adj. ROS 3% to 5%, Est. 5.79% (1)
- META US : Russia blocks Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service - (FT artilce in full)
- ML FP : Michelin Plans Up to €2B Share Buyback Over 2026-2028
- ML FP : Michelin Plans Up to €2B Share Buyback Over 2026-2028
- MSFT US : Mustafa Suleyman plots AI ‘self-sufficiency’ as Microsoft loosens OpenAI ties
- AERO SW : Montana Aerospace Sees 2026 Net Sales Above EU1.00B
- MONT BB : Montea Sees 2026 Adjusted EPS EU5.23
- MONT BB : Montea Sees 2026 Adjusted EPS EU5.23
- NKTR US : Brookfield Acquires Dentsu Tokyo Headquarters Building
- NN NA : NN Group FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- NORBB SS : Nordisk Bergteknik 4Q Sales Under Estimates
- NCR US : Novocure Jumps as FDA OKs Optune Pax for Pancreatic Cancer
- NOVOB DC : Novo Nordisk CFO Knudsen Sells About DKK8.4 Million in Shares
- ONTEX BB : Ontex 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
- ORK NO : Orkla 4Q Adjusted Ebit Beats Estimates
- OUT1V FH : Outokumpu 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- PIHLIS FH : Pihlajalinna 4Q Revenue Meets Estimates
- RECSI NO : REC Silicon 4Q Revenue $20.1M Vs. $16.9M Q/Q
- RXL FP : Rexel FY Sales Match Estimates
- SANF P : Sanofi Names Garijo CEO to Replace Hudson
- 8136 JP : Sanrio Boosts FY Operating Income Forecast, Beats Estimates
- SIE GY : Siemens Boosts Outlook After Automation Demand Offsets FX Drag
- SIP BB : Sipef FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- 9984 JP : SoftBank Swings to Profit on Valuation Boost From Its OpenAI Bet... Who believe Open AI worth what people say ?
- Space X IPO : Musk Restructures xAI Team Amid Senior Departures, SpaceX Merger - The Information
- STR AV : Strabag Prelim FY Order Book EU31.37B
- TGS NO : TGS 4Q Produced Ebitda Misses Estimates
- TKA GY : Thyssenkrupp Maintains Earnings Outlook Despite Weak Economy
- 6201 JP : Elliott’s $5.5 Billion Japan Shift Faces Test on Toyota Deadline
- URW FP : Unibail FY Adjusted Recurring EPS Beats Estimates; Unibail Sees 2026 Adjusted Recurring EPS EU9.15 to EU9.30
- VEI NO : Veidekke 4Q Revenue Meets Estimates
- VKTX US : Viking Therapeutics Gains, Plans to Advance Fat-Loss Pill
- VIMIAN SS : Vimian 4Q Revenue Meets Estimates
- VOLCARB SS : Geely Holding Boosts Stake in Volvo Car
- WRD US : WeRide Using AI to Slash Costs, Aims to at Least Double Robotaxi Fleet -- Interview
- YCA LN : Nektar Offering of $400m Shares Prices at $58/Share
- FHZN SW : Zurich Airport Jan. Passenger Traffic +6.8%