Asian Stocks Rise, Dollar Slips On Trump Speech: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks joined a rally in technology shares that lifted Wall Street benchmarks, as concerns about the disruptive effects of artificial intelligence eased. The yen weakened.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.1% to extend its advance to a third day, with South Korea — a bellwether for AI investments — rising 2% to a record. A rebound in the battered software stocks drove US gauges higher ahead of key earnings from Nvidia Corp.
A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar fell as much as 0.2% and US equity-index futures trimmed their gains while President Donald Trump was delivering his State of the Union address. Treasury edged lower, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year rising one basis point to 4.04%.
The rebound in global stocks was helped by comments from Anthropic PBC, which said it plans to build partnerships — suggesting that its Claude chatbot will integrate with, rather than displace, existing businesses. The disruptive potential of the technology has roiled stocks across sectors for weeks in what’s become known as the ‘AI scare trade.’
“It was largely a circuit breaker in the bad news flow,” said Matthew Haupt, a portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management. “But in reality it won’t have much of a half-life given that questions around AI disruption are still unresolved.”
Earlier this week, concerns over tariffs and geopolitics coupled with a report by Citrini Research and worries about the potential disruption caused by another tool from Anthropic were enough to send the stock market careening.
Investors had been on edge as AI-driven selloffs swept across industries including software, insurance brokerage, wealth management and cybersecurity. Sentiment steadied somewhat on Tuesday.
“It’s a relief rally after broad-based, indiscriminate selling,” said Ritesh Ganeriwal, head of investment at Syfe Pte in Singapore. “That said, we would characterize this as tactical stabilization, rather than a full reset of positioning.”
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“For all the worries over the tech sector’s performance this year, one thing is clear: its earnings outlook is far superior to that of its peers, which will be key to drawing a line under share prices.”
—Kristine Aquino, Managing Editor, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged lower as Trump continued his State of the Union speech. Trump also assailed the Supreme Court for striking down his global tariffs.
Trump also gave no indication he would change course, saying he would move ahead with restoring his broad import taxes through other authorities. He expressed confidence foreign countries would honor their trade agreements and even predicted that the US would take in so much revenue that it would “substantially replace the modern day system of income tax.”
“The suggestion that tariffs will replace income tax over time as the source of federal revenue, does suggest that he could make even greater use of tariffs in future – a fear that has hurt the dollar in the past,” said Gareth Berry, a strategist at Macquarie Group Ltd.
While US stocks have been volatile, Asian markets have outperformed their global peers and largely avoided the tech volatility. The standout performer was South Korea’s Kospi Index, which has gained about 44% this year, making it the world’s best-performing stock market.
The Asian nation’s stock market climbed to a valuation of $3.76 trillion, after adding roughly $2.23 trillion since the start of 2025, according to Bloomberg-compiled data as of Tuesday. That surpassed France’s $3.69 trillion, making Korea the world’s ninth‑largest stock market.
Elsewhere, the yen weakened against the dollar after two university professors were nominated to join the Bank of Japan board.
In other corners of the market, gold and silver — assets that have risen this year along with stocks — gained, and Bitcoin jumped about 3% to trade around $66,000.
Still, the main risk event in the tech sector on Wednesday will be Nvidia’s earnings.
The company is facing a high-stakes moment with its latest quarterly results, with the world waiting for fresh evidence that the AI spending boom remains on track.
To satisfy investors, Nvidia likely needs to deliver another blockbuster report. That means easily topping the forecasts it gave three months ago and setting new targets that are above current Wall Street estimates. The company has done this repeatedly, but concerns have grown that the AI spending frenzy isn’t sustainable.
This week’s earnings will either “calm or exacerbate” AI fears, said David Laut at Kerux Financial.
“We won’t have all of the answers this week, but worried investors are hungry for clarity,” he said.
Corporate News:
Workday shares fell 9% in extended trading, after the software company gave a full-year forecast that is weaker than expected. HP Inc. shares dropped about 6% in extended trading, after the computer company reported its first-quarter results and gave an outlook. The company said it expects its full-year results “to be closer to the low end of our range,” given rising memory prices and other factors. WiseTech Global Ltd. plans to cut about 2,000 jobs — almost 30% of its workforce — under an AI-driven revamp. Meta Platforms Inc. will deploy six gigawatts’ worth of data center gear based on processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., a blockbuster deal that marks a win for the chipmaker’s attempts to catch up with Nvidia Corp. Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. said a new $31-a-share buyout offer from Paramount Skydance Corp. could lead to a better deal than its existing agreement with Netflix Inc. HSBC Holdings Plc’s earnings on Wednesday come with revenue prospects and the buyout of a subsidiary in focus. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 12:24 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8% The Shanghai Composite rose 1.1% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.1% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1788 The Japanese yen was little changed at 155.91 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.8686 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $65,546.99 Ether rose 2.9% to $1,908.5 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.04% Japan’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.095% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.72% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $66.21 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.7% to $5,179.95 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Winnie Hsu, Ruth Carson and Bernadette Toh.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
