European Markets Rise, U.S. Stocks Dip on AI Financing Scrutiny
The global equities indicators diverged, with European markets delivering gains that eluded Wall Street after bears struck technology and AI names.
Renewed scrutiny of AI financing set the global tone after technology shares drove Wall Street lower, although US futures rebounded as attention shifts to a heavy corporate earnings week.
The NASDAQ ended the week down 2.14%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.09% and the Dow Jones declined 0.34%, with high oil prices weighing on markets, the stockbroking and portfolio management sub-unit of First National Bank (FNB) said in a brief.
The investment firm said in the update that Europe proved more resilient as the Euro Stoxx 50 ended the week 0.58% higher and the FTSE 100 gained 0.38%.
While the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is closed today in observance of the Chung Yeung Festival holiday, Friday’s 0.52% gain in the Hang Seng was driven by bargain hunting and lower yields.
Trade across Asia on Monday has presented a mixed picture, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.74% while the ASX 200 closed up 0.44% as softer domestic labour data cooled expectations of a near-term rate hike.
In South Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is set for a firmer open on Monday, extending its previous session’s advance as positive global futures outweigh a mixed Asian performance.
While Tencent is not trading today due to the holiday in Hong Kong, offering no read-through for Naspers and Prosus, technology weakness in the rest of the regions is dragging on overall performance.
The Australian mining complex is proving more resilient, with the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining Index up 0.43%, lending a positive directional bias to JSE resource counters.
Precious metals provide the clearest sector catalyst, with gold strengthening and silver advancing, while sharper gains in platinum and palladium bode well for PGM counters. Brent’s decline, meanwhile, may weigh on local energy shares.
The JSE closed broadly higher on Friday, with the All Share up 0.69% to 110 934 and the Top 40 up 0.82% to 103 230.
Resources 20 led the gains, surging 1.88% as a stronger gold price boosted precious metals (+2.13%), benefiting from a pullback in US Treasury yields and a weaker US dollar amid ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Industrials added a modest 0.31%, while Financials edged up just 0.14%. #European Markets Rise, U.S. Stocks Dip on AI Financing Scrutiny Global Equities Markets Rise as Oil Bear, AI Drive Risk Appetite
