Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged past the 68,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, buoyed by a strong performance in U.S. stocks that reached new record highs. The dollar briefly exceeded 160 Japanese yen but later receded slightly. In the commodities market, oil prices recorded an increase of more than $1 per barrel.
The rally in technology shares, particularly those connected to the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, has played a pivotal role in driving global stock market gains. By midmorning, the Nikkei 225 was up 2.2%, reaching 68,172.89. Notable increases were seen in shares of Tokyo Electron, a maker of computer chip equipment, which rose by 10.1%, while Advantest, a chip testing equipment manufacturer, climbed 4.6%.
In contrast, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped by 0.9% to 25,804.51, and the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.2% to 4,068.77. However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 posted a modest gain of 0.3%, reaching 8,747.10, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose by 1.8%. Notably, markets in South Korea remained closed for a holiday.
On the U.S. front, the performance of stocks continued to reflect the optimism surrounding the artificial intelligence sector, with the S&P 500 edging up 0.1% to 7,609.78. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also recorded all-time highs. Analysts noted a significant number of job advertisements in the U.S. job market at the end of April, hinting at ongoing labor market strength.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise saw its stock skyrocket by 19.5% after reporting earnings that vastly exceeded expectations, attributing the surge in demand to clients investing in AI technologies. Marvell Technology experienced a remarkable jump of 32.5%, marking its best trading day since its IPO in 2000, following comments from Nvidia’s CEO suggesting that Marvell could be “the next trillion-dollar company.” Nvidia’s market capitalization has recently soared beyond $5 trillion, although its stock price dipped by 0.7% in the latest trading session.
Additionally, Generac’s shares climbed 5.7% after the company announced a collaboration to supply backup power generators for a major data center operator, indicating the substantial expenditures being made by “hyperscalers” to establish advanced AI data centers.
In a bold move, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced plans to raise $80 billion to support its extensive investments by selling shares. The tech giant plans to allocate up to $190 billion on equipment and investment in the current year, raising questions about the feasibility and sustainability of such massive investments in AI.
Market analysts have expressed concerns about a potential slowdown in the U.S. stock market after an impressive nine-week winning streak for the S&P 500, the longest since 2023. The recent upswing has been bolstered by strong earnings from U.S. companies and optimism regarding negotiations between the United States and Iran that may reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, potentially stabilizing oil prices.
In the oil market, prices resumed their upward trajectory, with Brent crude oil increasing by $1.03 to $97.03 per barrel, still above its pre-war level of approximately $70. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by $1.10 to $94.86 per barrel. The dollar, after briefly trading at 160.44 yen, retreated to 159.86 yen, while the euro slightly changed hands to $1.1631.
