Netflix shares soared after it reported a surge in subscribers
Chris DELMAS
Text size
UPDATES with US close, CHANGES dateline
US and European stock markets mostly pushed higher Wednesday as investors tracked earnings and President Donald Trump’s policy plans as artificial intelligence shares rallied.
However, Hong Kong and Shanghai’s indices fell after Trump warned China could be included in a list of countries to be hit with tariffs on February 1.
The latest batch of corporate earnings helped boost sentiment on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 flirting with a record high.
Netflix soared nearly 10 percent after it reported adding almost 19 million subscribers during the holiday season to finish last year with more than 300 million globally.
Shares of AI-linked companies such as Arm, Microsoft and Nvidia also advanced following a White House announcement of some $500 billion in new artificial intelligence infrastructure, while Procter & Gamble and Seagate Technology were among the equities advancing after earnings reports.
A retreat in US government bond yields after last week’s spike has also reassured equities investors.
In Europe, the London and Frankfurt stock markets continued to hit record highs, helped by currency movements.
London’s FTSE 100 index was supported by “a weak pound that allows investors to buy UK companies with international businesses at cheaper prices,” noted Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
The FTSE 100 ended the day a tad lower, however, while the DAX set a new record closing high.
European stocks are rising on the coattails of “America’s changed economic policy, which has allowed European stocks to play catch up for now,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Oil prices slid further after tumbling Tuesday in reaction to Trump’s announcement of a “national energy emergency” to ramp up drilling in the United States.
Traders have been bracing for Trump 2.0 since his reelection in November, with an initial rally — fueled by hopes of market-boosting measures — giving way to worries he would resume his trade war with China and also target others.
There had been optimism that Beijing would avoid being targeted in an early flurry of duties by the White House after Trump said Monday he would first hit Canada and Mexico.
But he broadened his targets Tuesday to include China and the European Union.
Shares in software investment giant SoftBank soared more than 10 percent Wednesday — leading Tokyo-listed chipmakers higher — after Trump said it was included in a new $500-billion venture to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the United States.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 piled on more than one percent thanks to SoftBank’s advance fueled by news that it will be part of the Stargate venture along with cloud giant Oracle and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
Shares in Oracle rose by 6.8 percent. OpenAI is a privately held company.
Shares in ASML, the Dutch firm which makes the equipment to manufacture the most powerful chips used for AI projects, rose 2.3 percent in Amsterdam.
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 44,156.73 (close)
New York – S&P 500 UP 0.6 percent at 6,086.37 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 20,009.34 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 8,545.13 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,837.40 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 21,254.27 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 39,646.25 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.6 percent at 19,77 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,213.62 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0425 from $1.0428 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2313 from $1.2350
Dollar/yen: UP at 156.45 yen from 155.52 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.48 pence from 84.43 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $79.00 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $75.42 per barrel
