Stocks Rebound as Dip Buyers Step In, Dollar Slips: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rebounded as dip buyers stepped in after a brief pullback in global equities, sparked by concerns over lofty valuations in technology companies.
Asian equities rose 1.1% after their steepest two-day decline since April, with Hong Kong and Japan among the biggest gainers. All but one of 11 industry groups in the index advanced, with more than two stocks gaining for every one that fell. Softbank Group Corp. shares rose 1% after news that it explored a potential takeover of US chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc. earlier this year.
Gains in Asia followed a Wall Street recovery, where investors returned to some of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom after Tuesday’s selloff. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes edged lower by 0.1%. Qualcomm Inc. shares fell 2.6% in late trading, becoming the latest chipmaker to deliver an upbeat forecast and still leave investors underwhelmed. European stocks were set for a tepid open.
“The market is recovering today with dip buyers dominating,” said Takehiko Masuzawa, head of equity trading at Phillip Securities Japan Ltd. “Investors are being cautious with AI semiconductor names, but they’re not continuing to sell — because everyone still wants to buy them.”
After a brief pullback that stirred concerns about stretched valuations, buyers returned as strong earnings momentum and upbeat private economic data lifted stocks. The shift in sentiment came after the global equity rally hit a speed bump earlier this week, when Wall Street executives cautioned that lofty valuations could trigger a correction.
Concerns about a narrowing cohort of stocks driving equity gains have become louder, while a pivot in the Federal Reserve’s commentary dented optimism about interest-rate cuts.
“For investors with cash on the sidelines, the recent market pullback seems like a good time to buy, especially for investors with a longer time horizon,” said Robert Edwards at Edwards Asset Management.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s use of broad powers to impose his signature tariffs faced questions at the Supreme Court, which appeared skeptical of the sweeping global levies. Trump announced the century-high levies in April as part of his economic policy to reshape global trade.
In a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday, the court hinted it was ready to put significant limits on Trump’s far-reaching agenda for the first time since he took office in January.
“It will certainly have a place in the back of the mind for investors,” said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney. “Until it transfers to any action, I don’t think we will see much of a reaction from markets.”
While the importance of this case and the likelihood of a close split on the court argue for lengthy deliberation, the expedited consideration of the case and likely desire to avoid even larger eventual refunds imply that the court is likely to rule in December or January, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists including Alec Phillips wrote in a note.
Elsewhere, gold extended its gains, while oil edged up after three days of losses. The dollar fell slightly against all Group-of-10 peers, with the yen gaining the most. Treasuries rose ahead of speeches from a slew of Fed officials as traders seek clues on the Fed’s rate trajectory.
Meanwhile, the number of Chinese companies in MSCI Inc.’s global stock gauges climbed for the first time in nearly two years, setting up the market for more inflows from passive investors.
Corporate Highlights:
Arm Holdings Plc, which provides the most widely used technology in computing processors, gave a bullish revenue forecast, helped by increasing interest in designing chips to run AI data centers. A judge denied Pfizer Inc.’s request to temporarily block Novo Nordisk A/S’ $10 billion bid to acquire the obesity startup Metsera Inc. United Overseas Bank Ltd. shares slumped after the lender set aside its biggest provision of S$615 million ($470 million) citing commercial real estate risks in the US and Greater China. James Hardie Industries Plc shares tumbled after rivals sounded fresh warnings on the US home-improvement market, worsening what’s been a disastrous year for the company’s management and investors. The US will cut flight capacity by 10% at 40 high-volume markets across the country to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers and the aviation system during what is now the longest government shutdown in history. International routes will be spared. Nissan Motor Co. has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ¥97 billion ($630 million) to a group sponsored by Hong Kong-listed autoparts maker Minth Group. Pony AI Inc. and WeRide Inc. fell on their trading debuts in Hong Kong after the pair of Chinese robotaxi firms battled for investors during their public offerings, which raised more than $1.1 billion. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 2:59 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 1.4% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1510 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 153.88 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1277 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $103,120.64 Ether fell 1.6% to $3,386.68 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.14% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 1.680% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.37% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $59.86 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,987.63 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Winnie Hsu and Joanna Ossinger.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
