World, US Shares Surge on Nvidia News  11/20 04:51

   World shares surged on Thursday after Nvidia reported stronger than expected 
quarterly earnings, assuaging worries that AI-driven stock prices may have shot 
too high.

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- World shares surged on Thursday after Nvidia 
reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings, assuaging worries that 
AI-driven stock prices may have shot too high.

   The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.2%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average gained 0.5%.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.8% to 23,351.45, while 
Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 9,559.90. In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 0.7% 
to 8,011.92.

   In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index initially surged as much as 4.2% before 
giving up some early gains. It closed nearly 2.7% higher at 49,823.94 as 
technology stocks rallied, with investor sentiment boosted by Nvidia's report 
of $57 billion in quarterly revenue after trading closed in the U.S., 
significantly above expectations.

   South Korea's Kospi added 1.9% to 4,004.85, with gains led by technology and 
energy stocks. Investors were encouraged by Nvidia's earnings and reports that 
the U.S. may delay planned semiconductor tariffs.

   Samsung Electronics gained 4.2%, while SK Hynix added 1.6%.

   Chinese markets ended mixed as reports said the government might be planning 
more measures to try to revive the ailing property sector.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was barely changed at 25,835.57, while the 
Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 3,931.05 after China's central bank kept 
its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3% and 3.5%, respectively.

   Taiwan's Taiex closed 3.2% higher while India's BSE Sensex added nearly 0.7%.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2% to 8,552.70, also led by gains for 
technology stocks.

   On Wednesday, the U.S. stock market swung through another unsettled day of 
trading, ahead of a couple of crucial tests for Wall Street.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.4% after veering between a small loss and a leap of 1.1% 
earlier in the day. That broke a four-day losing streak, the longest in nearly 
three months for the index, which has been shaking because of worries that 
stock prices have shot too high and that the Federal Reserve may not deliver as 
many cuts to interest rates as expected.

   The Dow industrials edged 0.1% higher, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%.

   The market's remained on Nvidia. Wall Street's most influential stock 
climbed 2.8% as traders made their final moves ahead of the chip company's 
latest profit report, which arrived after trading finished for the day. Nvidia 
surged 5.1% in after-hours trading.

   Nvidia is now the largest stock on Wall Street, having briefly topped $5 
trillion in value. That means its movements have more of an effect on the S&P 
500 than any other stock, and it can single-handedly steer the index's 
direction some days.

   One way Nvidia can quiet criticism that it shot too high, which has dragged 
its stock down by roughly 10% from late last month, is to keep delivering 
bigger profits. That's because stock prices tend to track profits over the long 
term.

   Nvidia has become a bellwether for the broader frenzy around 
artificial-intelligence technology, because other companies are using its chips 
to ramp up their AI efforts.

   Traders also made their final moves ahead of a September jobs report coming 
from the U.S. government on Thursday.

   The job market has been slowing enough this year that the Fed has already 
cut its main interest rate twice. Lower rates can give a boost to the economy 
and to prices for investments, and the expectation on Wall Street had been for 
more cuts, including at the Fed's next meeting in December.

   But some Fed officials are hinting that they should pause next month, in 
part because inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed's 2% target. Lower 
interest rates can worsen inflation.

   In other dealings early Thursday, US benchmark crude oil added 36 cents to 
$59.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 38 cents to 
$63.89 per barrel.

   The U.S. dollar climbed to 157.20 Japanese yen from 157.06 yen. It has been 
trading at nearly the highest level this year on expectations that the 
government will delay efforts to rein in Japan's national debt as Prime 
Minister Sanae Takaichi raises spending to help spur the economy.

   The euro fell to $1.1525 from $1.1538.