MARKETS: The chip sector is on the rise again in Asia, the yen continues to strengthen

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index ended up half a percent yesterday, and the cheerful mood continued in the Asian markets on Thursday.

In Japan, the Nikkei index was up 0.3 percent and the broader TOPIX index was up 1.1 percent. The Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong stock exchange was up by 0.02 percent and the mainland Chinese stock exchanges were up by almost half a percent. The semiconductor-driven markets of Taiwan and South Korea were clearly on the rise.

The rise in crude oil prices stopped when the US president Donald Trump played down the possibility of a protracted conflict with Iran. The stabilization of oil prices eased the pressure on the interest rate market and calmed investors’ fears of inflation. The price of Brent crude oil has risen in a week from around 87 dollars to more than 95 dollars per barrel. On Thursday, the Brent price was slightly down.

In Asia, technology stocks rose strongly after the previous day’s selling wave. US semiconductor giant Broadcom a message about the strong continuation of the artificial intelligence boom. For the current quarter, Broadcom guided for a 93 percent revenue growth from the previous year and a 66 percent adjusted operating profit margin. Also a US computer company Dell had reported a better-than-expected report yesterday, driven by strong server demand related to the artificial intelligence boom.

On the corporate front, the rapid development of artificial intelligence was also strongly on display. artificial intelligence chip company Nvidia’s managing director Jensen Huang called on the G20 countries to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence to promote economic growth. Meanwhile, the social media company Meta Platforms released its most powerful AI model to date. According to the company’s artificial intelligence director, the performance of the new model is already approaching the level of the industry’s leading competitors.

In the foreign exchange market, the Japanese yen strengthened significantly as the central bank’s interest rate expectations grew, which kept investors on their toes due to possible support measures by the authorities. Both Japanese and US authorities have signaled that they will support the yen’s exchange rate if necessary.

The yen had strengthened by 0.6 percent against the dollar and 0.5 percent against the euro and the pound.

You got 1.16 dollars for the euro and 157.78 yen for the dollar.

In the market this afternoon, for example, last week’s number of new unemployment compensation applications in the United States will be monitored, and tomorrow there will be the most consistent macro figure of the week, when the US monthly labor market report will be announced.

The Euro Stoxx 50 future was up a meager 0.03 percent in the morning, anticipating a cautiously neutral stock market opening in Europe.