BANGKOK — World shares were mixed Wednesday ahead of an earnings update by computer chip giant Nvidia that may provide insights into the state and future of artificial intelligence.
Nvidia’s financial results were due later in the day after trading ends in New York. Its quarterly report is expected to help clarify whether markets have been soaring on an overhyped AI bubble or on a technology boom in the making.
Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% lower to 24,117.06, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4% to 7,741.15. Britain’s FTSE 100 was barely changed at 9,269.36.
The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed.
During Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 25,201.76 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 1.8% to 3,800.35. The Shanghai benchmark has been hitting record highs recently and investors likely were selling to lock in gains.
Also, the Chinese government said industrial profits fell 1.7% in January-July from a year earlier, although that was an improvement from a 2.8% drop in the first half of the year. In July, profits fell 1.5% year-on-year, it said.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 42,520.27.
In South Korea, the Kospi advanced 0.3% to 3,187.16.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3% at 8,960.50.
Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 0.9% after a top official said he did not expect any potential increases in U.S. tariffs on computer chip exports to have a major impact on the export-dependent, high-tech manufacturing hub.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturng Co., the world’s largest contract chip maker, gained 1.4%.
In Bangkok the SET shed 0.3%.
Markets in India were closed for a public holiday, as 50% tariffs on exports to the United States took effect. The move by U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to hit labor-intensive sectors like textile manufacturing especially hard.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher and the Dow industrials gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq added 0.4%.
A report Tuesday said consumer confidence declined modestly in August as anxiety over a weakening job market grew for the eighth straight month. The small decline from The Conference Board’s monthly survey was mostly in line with economists’ projections.
Wall Street notched big gains last week on hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. But markets were subdued after Trump escalated his fight with the Federal Reserve by saying he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook’s lawyer said she’ll sue Trump’s administration to try…
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