Asian stocks were on track for their best February on record as investors piled into the region’s companies supplying the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out. The yen strengthened on inflation data. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has gained 6.9% this month, making it the best February performance since the inception of the index in 1998. The gauge — up 0.2% on Friday — is also poised to outperform the S&P 500 Index for a third consecutive month. Equity-index futures indicated Wall Street benchmarks were set to slip on Friday. South Korea — a bellwether for AI investments — was the standout performer in Asia, with the Kospi Index gaining about 20% this month. It’s the world’s best-performing gauge this year after a 49% surge year-to-date. Asian equities have outpaced European and US benchmarks as investors flocked to companies underpinning the expansion of AI infrastructure, viewing the region’s firms as the “picks and shovels” of the supply chain. By contrast, the disruptive potential of the new technology has roiled stocks across sectors for weeks in the US, in what’s become known as the “AI scare trade.” Global asset managers who collectively oversee more than $20 trillion of assets have grown more bullish across emerging-market equities, currencies, domestic bonds and credit, potentially offering fresh momentum to the sector’s record-busting rally. Eastspring Investments Asian Equity Portfolio Specialist Ken Wong speaks on Bloomberg TV about bright spots for investors seeking growth in key Asian markets including South Korea, Taiwan and India. Citigroup Inc., which reviewed the published outlooks of some of the world’s biggest asset managers, found that funds had added to long positions in markets across Asia, Latin America, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The findings came as MSCI’s main emerging equity index also traded close to record highs. In other corners of the market, Treasuries held their gains with the yield on the 10-year holding at 4%. At one point during the US session, the yield touched its lowest this year. The US is becoming ever more dependent on its closest allies to fund its swollen debt burden, exposing a vulnerability in the $30 trillion Treasuries market. Countries that are aligned with Washington bought $463.9 billion of Treasuries in 2025, the biggest annual net purchase since at least 2016, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of US Treasury data. By contrast, the figures showed that countries least united with the US offloaded $125.24 billion of American debt last year, the most in six years. In commodities, oil steadied after the US and Iran agreed to more nuclear talks next week following a round of discussions on Thursday, as a huge deployment of American forces in the Middle East kept the market on edge. Also, gold was poised to close out its longest run of monthly gains since 1973, with February’s 6%-plus climb set to be the seventh on the trot. Meanwhile, the yen strengthened against the dollar after inflation in Tokyo — a barometer for broader Japan — eased less than expected. The dollar consolidated amid month-end flows. Among other movers in Asia, attention was on the technology shares, with the region’s IT index dropping 0.8%. That came after a drop in Wall Street benchmarks, as sentiment was weighed down by a muted reaction to Nvidia Corp.’s earnings. The sober response to Nvidia, which included beats on revenue, net income and guidance, was partly because investors now expect such outperformance, according to Hardika Singh at Fundstrat Global Advisors. US After Hours XYZ +22.9%, AAOI +17.2%, DELL +10.3% higher on earnings; NFLX +10.6% and PSKY +5.3% higher as NFLX declines to match PSKY higher offer; DUOL -21.4%, ZS -9.6%, ESTC -9%, CRWV -8.6%, FLUT -8.6% lower on earnings.
Nikkei +0.10% Hang Seng +0.75% CSI -0.71% Shanghai -0.17% Shenzen -0.33%
Eur$ 1.1811 CNH 6.8502 CNY 6.8552 JPY 155.58 GBP 1.3498 CHF 0.7726 RUB 76.7331 TRY 43.9594 WTI$ 65.34 +0.20% Gold 5,184 -0.02% BTC 67,820 +0.40% ETH 2,048 +0.60%
S&P -0.30% Nasdaq -0.24% EuroStoxx +0.02% FTSE +0.27% Dax -0.05% SMI
Macro :
- Iran Says US Nuclear Talks So Far ‘Very Intense and Serious’
- Hedge Fund Millennium Hires Goldman’s Hoxha for CIO Office
- YOLO Traders Rush to Buy Dip in Beaten-Down Software Stocks
- China’s Carmakers Cede Ground in Europe After Surging in 2025
- Airstrikes hit Afghan capital of Kabul, hours after Afghanistan attacks Pakistan
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ANA SM : Acciona FY Net Income Beats Estimates
- ANE SM : Acciona Energia FY Net Income Misses Estimates
- ACX SM : Acerinox 4Q Ebitda Misses Estimates
- ACKB BB : Ackermans FY Net Income Beats Estimates
- AMS SM : Amadeus 4Q Adjusted Profit Beats Estimates
- AMZN US : Jeff Bezos’s $30bn AI lab seeking tens of billions for industrial sector deals - FT
- AMBA US : Ambarella 1Q Revenue Forecast Beats Estimates
- ASML NA : ASML Says Next-Gen Tools Ready to Mass-Produce Chips: Reuters
- AVIO IM : Glass Lewis Backs Avio Governance Changes
- AZE BB : EQT to Receive €173m From Exit of Stake in Azelis Group
- Barnes & Noble IPO : Barnes & Noble Owner Elliott Is Said to Seek London IPO Pitches
- BAS GY : BASF Eyes More Cost Cuts as Chemicals Headwinds Continue in 2026
- BIM FP : BioMerieux Sees 2026 Organic Sales +5% to +7%
- BOBN SW : Bobst FY Sales CHF1.62B Vs. CHF1.89B Y/y
- IAG LN : IAG Plans €448 Million Dividend, €1.5 Billion Share Buyback
- BWO NO : BW Offshore 4Q Ebitda Misses Estimates; Revenue Beats
- CO FP : Casino Gets Extension on Term Loan B, RCF, Quatrim Debt
- CLNX SM : Cellnex Telecom 2025 Operating Profit €476m vs €197m in 2024
- CTY1S FH : Citycon 4Q EPRA EPS EU0.10
- CLARI FP : Clariane FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- COL SM : Colonial SFL Socimi FY Net Income Misses Estimates
- DELL US : Dell Technologies 2027 Rev. Forecast Beats Estimates
- DHL GY : DHL, JD.com Sign MoU Focused on Logistics Innovation, E-Commerce
- DOV IM : doValue FY Gross Rev. EU580.4M Vs. EU482.1M Y/y
- DOV IM : doValue FY Gross Rev. EU580.4M Vs. EU482.1M Y/y
- DKNG US : DraftKings Gets License To Launch Online Sportsbook in Arkansas
- ENGI FP : Engie Preps Paris’s Biggest New Share Sale in Decades
- EQT SS : EQT to Receive €173m From Exit of Stake in Azelis Group
- FAGR BB : Fagron Acquires Pharmavit Europe for About €68m
- FLUT US : Flutter Shares Fall as 2026 US Revenue Guide Misses Estimate
- FUR NA : Fugro 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
- GOOGL US : Google Introduces AI-Powered Features in Google Translate
- GOOGL US : Google Strikes Multibillion-Dollar AI Chip Deal With Meta, Sharpening Nvidia Rivalry - The Information
- GRF SM : Grifols 4Q Net Revenue Beats Estimates
- GSBD US : Goldman Sachs BDC 4Q Total Investment Income Meets Estimates
- GUBRA DC : Gubra FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- HOLN SW : Holcim Sees 2026 Organic Recurring Ebit +8% to +10%
- INGA NA : ING Seeks to Boost CEO Pay After Finding Widening Gap With Peers
- SKB GY : Koenig & Bauer Prelim FY Revenue Matches Estimates
- FII FP : LISI FY Ebitda Misses Estimates
- MARA US : MARA Rises on Starwood AI Data Center Deal Amid 4Q Miss
- MRL SM : Merlin Properties FY FFO Beats Estimates
- META US : 2 founding members of Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab quietly left for Meta
- META US : Meta’s Internal Chip Design Efforts Hit Roadblocks - The Information
- BMPS IM : Paschi Sees 100% Div Payout Through 2030 After Mediobanca Deal
- NFLX US : Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.*NETFLIX SHARES EXTEND GAIN TO 13% IN POSTMARKET TRADING
- NVDA US : Google Strikes Multibillion-Dollar AI Chip Deal With Meta, Sharpening Nvidia Rivalry - The Information
- OpenAI IPO : OpenAI Builds an M&A War Chest - The Information
- PSKY US : *PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE SHARES GAIN 4%
- PROX BB : Proximus 4Q Adjusted Revenue Misses Estimates
- RECT BB : Recticel FY Net Sales Meet Estimates
- RBREW DC : Royal Unibrew Sees 2026 Organic Ebit +6% to +10%
- SAP GY : SAP’s New Bonus System Ended Up Rewarding Underperforming Bosses
- SGO FP : Saint-Gobain Sees 2026 Operating Margin Above 15%, Saint-Gobain ADRs Fall as 4Q Sales Miss Estimates
- SCYR SM : Sacyr FY Net Income Beats Estimates
- SWTQ SW : Schweiter FY Ebitda Misses Estimates
- SMCP FP : SMCP FY Adjusted Ebitda Meets Estimates
- SpaceX IPO : xAI Founding Member Toby Pohlen Says He Is Leaving Company
- STWD US : Starwood Property Announces $400m Share Buyback
- STLAM IM : China’s Carmakers Cede Ground in Europe After Surging in 2025
- SREN SW : Swiss Re FY Net Income $4.76B
- TEF SM : Telefonica Chile’s New Owner Makes ‘Mass’ Layoffs: La Tercera
- TEP FP : Teleperformance Replaces CEOs With McKinsey AI Consultant
- TLW LN : Tullow Oil In Lock-Up Pact With Holders of Over 90% of ‘26 Notes
- FR FP : Valeo Sees 2026 Free Cash Flow Above EU400M, Est. EU460.2M
- FR FP : Valeo’s Free Cash Flow Outlook Beats Expectations: Street Wrap
- VIS SM : Viscofan 4Q Ebitda Misses Estimates
- VOW GY : China’s Carmakers Cede Ground in Europe After Surging in 2025
- VU FP : Vusion FY Ebitda Beats Estimates
- VZN SW : VZ Holding FY Operating Revenue CHF574.5M Vs. CHF525.1M Y/y
- WIZZ LN : Wizz Air Holder Indigo Partners Offers About 10m Shares