Japan's Nikkei nears record peak after Nvidia beat, rest of Asia muted
Nikkei share average climbed to the cusp of an all-time peak on Thursday after unexpectedly strong revenue forecasts from U.S. chip designer Nvidia lifted Asian tech stocks.
However, the regional mood was tempered by a retreat in Chinese stocks from multi-month highs reached amid Beijing's efforts to boost market confidence.
Long-term U.S. bond yields hugged three-month highs while the dollar sagged after minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting confirmed the view that interest rate cuts would be slow in coming, but weren't markedly more hawkish that the Fed's previously expressed views.
The Nikkei 225 share average pushed as high as 38,924.88 for the first time since January 1990 — right when the so-called bubble economy peaked — before entering the midday recess up 1.7% from Wednesday at 38,913.84. Its all-time high is 38,957.44 set on Dec. 29, 1989.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.07%, with a 0.71% rise for Taiwan's stock benchmark countered by losses in Hong Kong.
The Hang Seng slipped 0.41%, threatening to snap a seven-day winning streak. A subindex of tech shares slumped 0.84%.
Mainland blue chips oscillated throughout the session between small gains and losses.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures signalled gains, following a mixed session on Wednesday for the main benchmarks. S&P 500 futures rallied 0.75% and tech-focused Nasdaq futures jumped 1.39%.
Following the closing bell overnight, Nvidia forecast a roughly 233% surge in quarterly revenue,
