US Equity Futures Advance, Dollar Edges Lower: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US equity-index futures inched higher in Asian trading after signs of fatigue in the AI-driven rally caused two days of declines on Wall Street.

Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes rose 0.1% in a sign the rally may resume after the brief pause. Asian shares gained 0.2% while stocks in Hong Kong edged up as the city returned to normalcy after Super Typhoon Ragasa. Technology firms advanced. Copper remained near the highest in more than a year after Freeport-McMoRan Inc. declared force majeure on contracted supplies from its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

The dollar edged lower while oil dipped following its biggest jump since July. Treasuries gained slightly, with the yield on the 10-year falling one basis point to 4.13%. In Japan, a 40-year government bond auction drew a demand ratio that was stronger than its 12-month average.

Traders have flocked to Nvidia Corp. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as the firms pour billions into artificial intelligence, a theme that has powered the rise in US and Chinese stocks this year. That rally now faces a test with Friday’s US personal consumption expenditures report, as traders look for clues on how the inflation reading could shape the path of interest rates.

“The trend of strong gains isn’t over yet,” said Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler. “However, the short-term risk-reward profile is becoming more compressed as stocks extend higher while underlying momentum fades.”

While the S&P 500 has defied September’s gloomy reputation as the worst month for equity returns, the gauge failed to gain traction on Wednesday, sparking concerns the rally has hit an air pocket.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba were among the winners in Asia Thursday.

Chinese semiconductor stocks extended their rally as sentiment was further boosted by a report that a local major memory chipmaker is developing an advanced chip packaging technology for high-bandwidth memory. A gauge of technology stocks in Hong Kong rose 1.9% to hover around levels last seen in 2021.

“The tech and AI theme continues to drive regional markets, with China tech giants leading gains again,” said Marvin Chen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Investors may be seeing better growth potential as Alibaba’s accelerated investment plans show that China AI development is still in relatively early stages compared to the US.”

Meanwhile, the dollar slipped against all Group-of-10 peers. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said further interest-rate cuts are likely needed, but the US central bank should approach those with caution.

“Some measured language from Fed officials this week, chiefly Chairperson Jerome Powell, has sucked the momentum out of the equity market rally, which is well overdue for a little pull back,” wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne.

In European news, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he’ll run for re-election in 2027, despite polls that show his Socialist party would have a difficult time winning a majority in parliament.

European car sales edged up again in August, as consumers continued to warm up to electric and hybrid models produced by the region’s manufacturers in their fightback against Chinese rivals.

A key focus for investors this week will be the Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation. The reading likely grew at a slower pace last month, offering policymakers some breathing room to address weakness in the US labor market.

The report on Friday is forecast to show the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose 0.2% in August, compared with 0.3% in July. On an annual basis, the so-called core measure is seen holding at a still-elevated 2.9%.

Corporate News:

Intel Corp. has approached Apple Inc. about securing an investment in the ailing chipmaker, according to people familiar with the matter. Oracle Corp. sold $18 billion US investment-grade bonds on Wednesday, the market’s second-largest deal this year, as the software maker ramps up its spending to meet the needs of the artificial intelligence boom. The US lowered tariffs on auto imports from the European Union to 15% retroactive to Aug. 1, cementing terms of the framework trade agreement the two sides struck almost two months ago. Chery Automobile Co., China’s biggest car exporter, rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after raising HK$9.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in an initial public offering. Asian copper stocks tracked metal prices higher after Freeport-McMoRan declared force majeure on contracted supplies from its Grasberg mine in Indonesia following an accident. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 1:50 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1751 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 148.64 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.1285 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 1.6% to $111,758.45 Ether fell 3.5% to $4,020.91 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.14% Japan’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 1.645% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.33% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $64.69 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Nasteho Said and Joanne Wong.

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