A man is silhouetted in front of a stock market indicator board in Tokyo. Investors were rattled this week after reports surfaced that Peter Thiel’s hedge fund had sold its entire Nvidia stake, worth about US$100 million. (EPA Images pic)
HONG KONG: Asian stocks sank Tuesday, tracking more losses on Wall Street as investors grow increasingly worried about frothy tech valuations, with focus turned to earnings this week from AI chip titan Nvidia.
Building anxiety that this year’s record rally linked to all things artificial intelligence has made some traders question whether the billions spent on the industry might not see the big returns as soon as hoped.
Compounding the downbeat mood are concerns that the Federal Reserve will decide against a third-straight interest rate cut next month, as stubborn inflation plays up against a weakening jobs market.
The rally this year has been driven by the fears of missing out on the AI bandwagon and bets on US borrowing costs coming down.
That has put two major releases this week well in the spotlight.
Wednesday sees Nvidia — at the forefront of the AI push with its top-end chips — release its latest earnings report, which will be pored over for an idea about the outlook for the sector.
Earnings from retailers Home Depot, Target and Walmart will meanwhile give an insight into consumer sentiment.
Investors have become sensitive to any negative news surrounding the AI universe, and were given a jolt this week when it emerged that tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s hedge fund had offloaded all its Nvidia stake, which Bloomberg valued at about US$100 million.
Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets said in a note: “Analysts are sounding upbeat ahead of the report. But the bar is set very high and we know that if investors are starting to wobble the whole house of cards can come crashing down at any point.
“Profitability at the stocks at the heart of the AI bubble remains very strong, but any weakness evident in the (third quarter) from Nvidia would be punished hard by markets.”
Thursday is expected to see the release of the US September jobs report after delays due to the government shutdown. The data will provide a fresh snapshot of the world’s number one economy and give an idea about the chances of another rate cut.
The chances of a December reduction are around 50-50, with Fed officials recently flagging concerns about inflation more than the jobs market.
Meanwhile, Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson said that while he saw further downside risks to jobs, he wanted decision makers to proceed carefully, suggesting he is keeping his powder dry.
After a day deep in the red on Wall Street, Asia also struggled.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei all shed more than one percent, while there were also big losses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Wellington.
Bitcoin continued to struggle with the risk-averse atmosphere on markets, and was sitting at around US$91,300, having wiped out all its gains for the year. The crypto coin has lost more than a quarter of its value since hitting a record high of US$126,251 last month.
Key figures at around 0230 GMT
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 49,432.56 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,128.79
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,957.29
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.25 yen from 155.23 yen on Monday
Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1591 from US$1.1589
Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.3152 from US$1.3156
Euro/pound: UP at 88.13 pence from 88.09 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at US$59.64 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at US$63.92 per barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 46,590.24 points (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,675.43 points (close)
