Asia, Europe see cautious gains as Nvidia looms
Asian shares were little changed ahead of Nvidia’s results, while Chinese tech outperformed on Beijing’s new “AI Plus” push. European markets point higher despite France’s political jitters, as the US yield curve steepens on Fed turmoil, the dollar steadies before PCE, and commodities trade mixed.
Asia, Europe await Nvidia results
Asian equities were broadly rangebound on Wednesday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index little changed, but Chinese benchmarks outperformed after Beijing’s State Council unveiled an “AI Plus” initiative to accelerate adoption across technology and consumer sectors, sparking broad gains in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and semiconductor names with the CSI AI Index hitting a record high and the CSI300 pushing to a three-year high.
Europe mixed as France risk lingers
Most European markets signalled a firmer open even as sentiment stayed fragile amid France’s latest political drama, with Prime Minister François Bayrou’s push to win backing for a debt-reduction plan apparently backfiring - coming on the heels of former PM Michel Barnier’s late-2024 ouster in a no-confidence vote after just three months in office.
FTSE 100 opens higher
The UK blue chip index opened higher, propped up by JD Sports (up to a 4% intraday gain) - as it announced a £100m share buyback and reiterated it expects fical year 26 (FY26) profit before tax to be in line with market views in Tuesday’s trading update – National Grid (up around 1%) – as it welcomed Ofgem’s £80 billion electricity transmission investment plan - and Prudential (up nearly 1% ) as it reported strong half-year results.
Energy, utilities and consumer cyclicals were the largest gainers.
US yield curve steepens on Fed turmoil
US rates continued to reprice after President Donald Trump ordered the firing of Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Lisa Cook - an unprecedented move now headed to court - with some analysts warning the episode could ultimately place Chair Jerome Powell at risk; the two-year Treasury yield touched a 3.66% low, while the 30-year rose to 4.94%.
Rate cut odds firm; dollar edges back before PCE
Markets price an 87% chance (versus 84% on Tuesday) of a September rate cut and more than 100 basis points of easing by June 2026; the US dollar recovered modestly in Asian trade as the euro eased 0.2% to $1.1619 and the Japanese yen slipped to ¥147.70 per dollar, with investors eyeing Friday’s US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation print for hints of the Fed’s policy path.
Commodities mixed as geopolitics watched
Gold eased 0.49% after touching a two-week high, while oil steadied following Tuesday’s pullback as traders tracked headlines from Ukraine and weighed the impact of hefty new US tariffs on India, the world’s third-largest crude consumer.
Nvidia earnings is the day’s swing factor
Options markets imply roughly a $260bn move in Nvidia’s market value after results at 9pm BST, with investors laser-focused on China exposure following an unusual profit-sharing arrangement with Washington that sits alongside US-China tariff talks and chip curbs.
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