Asia shares lifted by Wall Street.
Asian stocks edged higher on Friday, riding a tech-driven rally on Wall Street, with investor focus now turning to a key U.S. inflation reading due later in the day for further clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook.
Results from artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia this week fell short of investors’ lofty expectations but still confirmed that AI infrastructure spending remains strong and helped lift the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to record high closes on Thursday.
Markets in Asia latched on to the positive momentum on Friday as MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.26%, though European and U.S. stock futures were mixed.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.1% while FTSE futures gained 0.06%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.12% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.21%.
“Despite the uncertainty around China for Nvidia, the headline revenue growth numbers don’t really suggest that the overall AI story is faltering much. Expectations are just already very high,” said Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics.
Gold prices steady above $3,400/oz.
Gold prices fell slightly on Friday, but were sitting on strong gains in August amid increasing bets on a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Focus was now squarely on upcoming PCE price index data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, for more cues on interest rates.
The dollar retreated in anticipation of the PCE data, and was also set for August losses amid growing bets on a September rate cut. This trend benefited gold and broader metal prices.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,409.89 an ounce, while gold futures for October fell 0.1% to $3,469.92/oz by 01:48 (05:48 GMT).
Gold set for August gains as rate cut bets grow
Spot gold was trading up 3.7% in August, and was now less than $100 away from its April record high.
Bitcoin price today falls to $111k.
Bitcoin slipped near $111,000 in choppy trading on Friday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation data and weighed growing expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month, while worries around the central bank’s independence linger.
As of 01:57 ET (05:57 GMT), the world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded 1.5% lower at $111,229.6.
It fell to a seven-week low below $109,000 earlier this week, but has rebounded slightly after that.
Still, Bitcoin has fallen more than 10% from an August record peak above $124,000, and was set for its first monthly drop since April.
The token is poised to fall 4% in August, after four consecutive monthly gains.
US PCE inflation looms amid Fed rate cut hopes
Traders turned their focus to the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due later on Friday.
A softer reading could bolster the case for monetary easing, while a stronger number may temper bets on rate cuts.
Markets are pricing in an 85% chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point in September, with further cuts expected before year-end.
Rate cut optimism generally boosts speculative assets like crypto, but President Donald Trump’s attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook earlier this week dampened risk appetite.
Cook refused to resign and filed a lawsuit challenging the move, saying her removal would undermine the Fed’s independence. The rare clash has unsettled investors wary of political influence over monetary policy.
Important Note: The information found on Ausprime platform is intended only to be informative, is not advice nor a recommendation, nor research, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument and thus should not be treated as such. The information provided does not include any specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. The past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and/or results. Past Performance or Forward-looking scenarios are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking or past performance statement
