Global markets trade mixed amid tech volatility, surging US Treasury yields

Global markets are trading on a mixed course due to volatility in artificial intelligence (AI) and tech stocks amid hot US inflation and surging Treasury bond yields.

Risk appetite in global markets rose on Wednesday amid gains in tech stocks due to expected rising demand for AI products.

US cloud computing firm CoreWeave’s better-than-expected results and expectations that Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO) could see a higher-than-anticipated company valuation drove tech stocks on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported affair with Alice Huang, who is alleged to be a Chinese agent, fueled expectations that he may be ousted from the company, driving down risk appetite. Nvidia’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Colette Kress is expected to take over for Huang.

At the same time, Federal Reserve officials urged addressing inflation with hawkish statements, fueling the expectations of a rate hike and boosting demand for the dollar.

The US Dollar Index rose to its 19-month high at 103.08 on Wednesday, while it is trading at 0.1% at 102.97 on Thursday.

Gold dropped 0.2% to $3,978 per ounce at the same time.

January-delivery Brent crude oil fell 1.6% to $91.3 a barrel after US Vice President JD Vance reportedly considered direct talks with Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary-general of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.

The US 10-Year Treasury yield is hovering at 4.99% on Thursday.

The New York Stock Exchange traded positively on Wednesday amid gains in CoreWeave stocks by nearly 25%. The firm’s performance eased investor concerns about massive AI spending.

Nebius Group shares gained 15.4%, and Ines shares rose 5.6%.

As for chipmakers, Marvell Technology shares surged 9.3%, Micron Technology shares rose 11.9%, Broadcom shares edged up 4%, and AMD shares were up 7.3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49%, the S&P 500 gained 1.31%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 3%, while losing 7.6% in after-hours trading due to developments about Jensen Huang.

Meanwhile, European stock markets traded positively on Wednesday due to tech and energy gains.

German firm Siemens Energy’s shares closed the day up 10.8% after it said it expects the firm’s comparable revenue to rise by 14-16% in fiscal year 2027.

German Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said the economic growth will likely accelerate in the fourth quarter with defense and infrastructure spending supporting demand.

Germany’s annual inflation fell to 2.8% in October from 3.3% in September, while consumer prices dropped 0.2% month-on-month.

Germany's DAX 40 gained 1.2%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.66%, Italy's FTSE MIB 30 climbed 0.37%, and the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.78% on Wednesday. European indexes started Thursday on a positive trend.

Near Thursday’s close, Asian equity markets are seeing a sell-off as the shares of companies supplying Nvidia dropped.

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC’s shares fell 1.3%, and Foxconn shares dropped 4.7%.

Japan’s Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.7% month-on-month and 7.1% year-on-year in October, exceeding estimates and accelerating versus September. The data fueled rate hike expectations by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

Near the close of trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.9%, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%.