Nvidia earnings loom, stocks hesitant as traders brace

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Few investors so far this week were willing to take new positions before Nvidia’s results. Photo / AFP

Global markets were mixed as traders largely treaded water after a busy period with a post-election “explosion” in enthusiasm in the United States, followed by a pullback last week.

Focus also turned to chip behemoth Nvidia before its quarterly earnings on Wednesday that could indicate prospects for the entire tech sector.

Wall Street’s three major indices finished mixed, with the Dow edging lower and the S&P and the Nasdaq closing slightly higher, as few investors were willing to take new positions before Nvidia’s results.

It was “a relatively unremarkable day in terms of magnitude of move”, B. Riley Wealth Management’s Art Hogan said.

This was not surprising, he said, pointing to the post-election market “explosion” and subsequent drawback last week.

“We kind of entered the new week at a midpoint with very little economic data,” Hogan said.

European markets tracked their losses on Monday while Asian markets were mixed.

Rising trade tensions

Expectations that a second Trump administration will impose painful fresh tariffs on Chinese goods have added to the unease and ramped up fears of another trade war between the economic powerhouses.

“It is likely that if Trump does proceed with tariffs on Chinese goods, they will respond aggressively,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trader XTB.

In Europe, the vice-president of the European Central Bank said Trump’s spending plans risked inflating the US government’s budgetary deficit and spreading worries on markets.

“Trade tensions could rise further,” with resulting risks for economic activity, Luis de Guindos noted.

Investor focus this week will also be on the release of purchasing managers’ index data for signals about the health of business activity in the eurozone, Britain and the United States.

Friday’s PMI data “may capture some of the initial sentiment impact from around the world regarding Trump’s victory”, Deutsche Bank economist Jim Reid said.

“Europe will be especially interesting on this front as the continent awaits their trade fate,” he said.

In Asia on Monday, Tokyo and Shanghai stock markets closed lower while Hong Kong rose, helped by hopes of more Chinese stimulus after a recent raft of measures.

Bitcoin sat near US$91,000, having hit another record high of US$93,462 last week on hopes Trump will push for more deregulation of the crypto market.

Crude oil prices jumped after production stopped at Sverdrup, a key Norwegian field in the North Sea, due to an electrical supply disruption.

Key figures about 21.30 GMT/10.30 NZT:

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1% at 43,389. points (close)

New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4% at 5,893.62 (close)

New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.6% at 18,791.81 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6% at 8,109.32 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1% at 7,278.23 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1% at 19,189.19 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1% at 38,220.85 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8% at 19,576.61 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2% at 3,323.85 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0600 from $1.0536 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2678 from $1.2611

Dollar/yen: UP at 155.04 yen from 154.32 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.57 pence from 83.52 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.2% at $73.30 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.2% at $69.16 per barrel

© Agence France-Presse