Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Monday, after artificial intelligence valuation concerns fueled declines in markets across the region last week. Investors in Asia are also parsing October inflation data from China over the weekend, which came in above expectations. Headline consumer inflation was at 0.2% year on year, compared to expectations of zero growth from economists polled by Reuters. Wholesale inflation saw a softer-than-expected drop of 2.1% year on year, against the expected 2.2% decline. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 3.48%, led by banks and insurance stocks, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 1.29% up.
The Nasdaq Composite closed lower Friday, pressured by more losses in artificial intelligence stocks, to post a losing week as new economic data added to investors’ fears of a slowdown. The tech-heavy index shed 0.21% to finish at 23,004.54. In contrast, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched into the green. The broad-based index gained 0.13% to close at 6,728.80, while the 30-stock index added 74.80 points, or 0.16%, to settle at 46,987.10. At their lows of the day, the Nasdaq had pulled back 2.1%, while the S&P 500 and Dow had fallen 1.3% and more than 400 points, or roughly 0.9%, respectively. Stocks came off their lows after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., offered up a new plan to Republicans that would enable the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown to end.
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Monday, buoyed by expectations of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December and a slew of weak economic data that raised global slowdown worries. Spot gold gained 1.4% to $4,053.40 per ounce by 0435 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 1.3% to $4,062.40 per ounce. “Gold is catching a solid bid from traders to kick off the week, with the precious metal rising on anticipation that a rate cut could still arrive next month, even though the Fed has been downplaying the chances of it occurring,” KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said. The U.S. economy shed jobs in October amid losses in the government and retail sectors, while cost-cutting and artificial intelligence adoption by businesses led to a surge in announced layoffs, data showed last week.
Oil prices rose on Monday on optimism that the U.S. government shutdown could end soon and lift demand in the world’s top oil consumer, offsetting concerns about rising supplies globally. Brent crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.74%, to $64.10 a barrel by 0123 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $60.25 a barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.84%. An end to the historic U.S. government shutdown, now in its 40th day, is within reach as the Senate on Sunday moved toward a vote on reopening the federal government. Brent and WTI fell about 2% last week and notched their second weekly decline, on fears of a supply glut. Indian refiners have turned to the Middle East and the Americas to replace sanctioned Russian supply.
The Senate late Sunday night passed the first stage of a deal that would end the U.S. government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. The procedural measure that allows other votes essential to the agreement to be held starting on Monday was approved with the bare minimum of 60 yes votes, after eight senators in the Democratic caucus broke with party leadership to support the deal. Forty senators voted no. Voting was held open on the Senate floor for more than two hours to allow for the arrival of the final “aye” vote, cast by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening for the proceeding. Senators broke into applause when Cornyn walked in to vote for the measure, just before 10:50 p.m. ET. The agreement, which was reached after round-the-clock negotiations over the weekend, would fund the U.S. government through the end of January.
China has rolled back a number of restrictions on its export of critical minerals and rare earth materials to the United States, in a sign that a trade truce between the world’s two largest economies is holding. China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it would suspend some export controls on critical minerals used in military hardware, semiconductors and other high-tech industries for a year. The suspended restrictions, first imposed on Oct. 9, include limits on the export of certain rare earth elements, lithium battery materials, and processing technologies. The export relaxations follow talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.
Deflation pressures in China eased in October as consumer prices returned to growth after remaining in negative territory for the most part this year, supported by holiday season demand, while declines in wholesale prices also moderated. Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics released Sunday showed consumer price index reading for October at 0.2%, compared with analysts’ expectations of zero, or flat growth year on year. October’s reading was the strongest since January this year, and the first positive growth in consumer prices since June. On a month-on-month basis CPI also rose by 0.2%, compared with analysts’ expectations of zero growth. Food prices, which have been a drag on the country’s CPI, dropped 2.9% year on year. However, prices rose 0.2% over the previous month.
Just weeks into her office, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces an early challenge in the form of declining real wages that threaten her ‘Abenomics’ approach to economics. Real wages fell for a ninth consecutive month in September, labor ministry data released Thursday showed. On an annual basis, they have not risen since 2021, underscoring the strain on household purchasing power. To be sure, nominal wages are climbing, but inflation has eroded real incomes. September data showed that nominal wages climbed 1.9% year on year, while real wages declined 1.4%. This comes as Takaichi has pledged to revive the spirit of “Abenomics,” a policy championed by the late Shinzo Abe, built on three pillars: ultra-easy monetary policy, aggressive fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that no U.S. government official would attend the Group of 20 summit in South Africa later this month, because of what he said were “human rights abuses” taking place in the country. South Africa’s foreign ministry described the decision as “regrettable” and repeated its rejection of Trump’s claims that white Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority country. “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, or TSMC, clocked strong growth in its revenue in October, as the world’s largest contract chipmaker continued to benefit from outsized artificial intelligence-fuelled demand. TSMC’s revenue grew 16.9% year-on-year to T$367.47 billion ($11.86 billion) in October, also rising 11% from the prior month. TSMC’s January-October revenue rose to T$3.13 trillion, up 33.8% from the same period last year. The revenue data showed that TSMC was continuing to benefit from companies around the world building more data centres and servers to power their AI ambitions. TSMC is a key supplier to AI major NVIDIA Corporation, and has largely tracked the latter’s surge in valuation over the past three years. Last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he had asked TSMC for more chip supplies as demand for the company’s advanced AI chips remained strong.
U.S. payment firms Visa and Mastercard are nearing a settlement with merchants by lowering fees stores pay and giving them more power to reject certain credit cards, according to reports on Saturday, citing people familiar with matter. Visa and Mastercard would trim interchange fees, typically 2% to 2.5% per transaction, by an average of about a tenth of a percentage point over several years, the Journal reported citing sources. The companies would also ease rules that currently require merchants accepting one network credit card type to accept all of them. The deal, which is expected soon, would divide credit-card acceptance into several categories such as rewards cards, no-rewards cards and commercial cards, under the current talks, the Journal reported. The settlement aims to resolve a legal battle dating back to 2005.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Saturday said the semiconductor giant is experiencing "very strong demand" for its state-of-the-art Blackwell chips, as its appetite for wafers from TSMC grows. "Nvidia builds the GPU (graphics processing units), but we also build the CPU, the networking, the switches, and so there are a lot of chips associated with Blackwell," Huang told reporters at an event held by Nvidia’s longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co in Hsinchu. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said that Huang had “asked for wafers,” but that the number was confidential. “TSMC is doing a very good job supporting us on wafers,” Huang said during his fourth public trip to Taiwan this year, adding that Nvidia’s success would not be possible without TSMC. Nvidia made history in October when it became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.
Amazon.com on Friday said it expanded its low-cost e-commerce service Amazon Bazaar, known as Haul in the U.S., to 14 additional markets, ramping up competition with Chinese rivals like Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu in the global race to sell ultra-cheap goods like $10 dresses and $5 accessories. Sweeping import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have dented consumer sentiment, especially for lower-income groups, who often seek out cheaper deals. The standalone Amazon Bazaar app offers similar merchandise to Amazon Haul, the budget-friendly shopping section within the Amazon app, launched last year. Amazon Bazaar, which launched in Mexico last year, will deliver a majority of products priced under $10 and some as low as $2 to its newest markets, ranging from home goods to fashion, according to the e-commerce giant.
Electric pickup and SUV maker Rivian said on Friday it was giving its CEO a pay plan worth as much as $4.6 billion over the next decade, a deal similar to Tesla’s record package for CEO Elon Musk, and linked to new profit targets and lower share price milestones than a previous deal. The move by the Rivian board shows that the Tesla plan for Musk could become a model for companies aiming to grow fast. Rivian’s pay package for its CEO RJ Scaringe could be one of the richest in history, depending on what performance goals are met. Rivian said the plan will retain its founder and keep him focused on growth and profitability as the automaker, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, gears up to launch next year its smaller, more affordable R2 SUV that will compete with Tesla’s best-selling Model Y crossover. The Rivian plan replaces one that the board said was not likely to be met, with the fresh plan having lower goals in terms of share growth.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday doubled down on the company’s ask for the U.S. to expand eligibility for a Chips Act tax credit, as the country accelerates efforts to secure its position as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Altman’s comment follows OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane’s October 27 letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios seeking an extension of eligibility for the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) to AI server production, AI data centers and grid components. The AMIC is a U.S. federal tax incentive designed to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
A consortium of around 20 banks is providing a project finance loan of about $18 billion to support the construction of a data center campus linked to Oracle in New Mexico, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group are administrative agents on the deal, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The four lead banks have enlisted other banks and will now sell the debt to additional banks and institutional investors through a retail syndication process, with commitments expected by late November, according to the report. The New Mexico data center campus is part of the Stargate initiative, a $500 billion push to build AI infrastructure across the U.S.