Asia stocks wobble, Nvidia falls

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between gains and losses, and was last down 0.2%

Asian stocks wobbled on Thursday as blowout earnings from artificial intelligence company Nvidia were offset by concerns over the outlook for its China business, while the U.S. dollar remained shaky as investors bet on a near-term rate cut.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between gains and losses, and was last down 0.2%, as U.S. equity futures were dragged lower by after-hours decline in shares of the chip designer, which has become the world’s most valuable company.

After such a strong run, investor exposure was stretched, leaving little margin for disappointment, said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore.

We should expect some spillover, she added, even though it is unlikely to hurt wider investor confidence.

Asian chipmakers — especially in Korea and Taiwan — are the cleanest beta to Nvidia and will likely feel the drag, she said.

Investor concerns about Nvidia centred on its China business, which hung in the balance, caught up in the trade war between Beijing and Washington.

We expect the stock to trade down modestly following an in-line quarter and guidance against a backdrop of elevated expectations heading into the call, analysts from Goldman Sachs wrote in a research report. Management noted that it did not ship any H20 products to China in the quarter.

Japanese stocks fluctuated between gains and losses after Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday that Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa cancelled a planned visit to the US, where he was expected to iron out details of the trade deal agreed last month. The Nikkei 225 was last up 0.4%.

Korean stocks added 0.3% after the Bank of Korea kept rates on hold at 2.5%, as widely expected by economists.

Hong Kong stocks plunged, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 1%, led by a 9.7% decline in Meituan shares, after the Chinese food delivery giant reported a drop in second-quarter profit on Wednesday.