Sawt Falasteen - Asian markets mixed as Nvidia falls short of hopes, eyes on Trump

Bitcoin reached an all-time peak above $95,000 as it continued its run towards $100,000 on optimism that the incoming US president will usher in an era of deregulation for cryptocurrencies.

All eyes had been on the release from Nvidia, which has been at the forefront of a global tech surge that has helped push some markets to multiple records owing to voracious demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence.

And once again, the firm topped expectations, announcing Wednesday that it made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue in the July-September quarter, while sales reached $35.1 billion -- about $2 billion more than estimated.

However, its shares fell in after-hours trade, even as chief executive Jensen Huang declared that the "age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing" and that its keenly anticipated Blackwell processing platform is in full production.

Observers said investors had been hoping for an even bigger blowout report, with Bloomberg saying some had been hoping for sales of as much as $41 billion.

Its shares -- which have soared more than 200 percent year to date -- dropped four percent at one point after-hours.

With Nvidia now the world's most expensive listed company, its results have become a bellwether of the tech industry.

"I have a feeling we've reached peak Nvidia," said Pendal Group's Amy Xie Patrick on Bloomberg Television. "This is a stock that beat analyst estimates but didn't beat enough."

And SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes added: "The bigger question remains: where exactly is the bar for Nvidia now? With expectations veiled in sky-high optimism, even seasoned analysts struggle to get a clear read.

"With so many portfolios already brimming with Nvidia stock, some investors might see this quarter's results as a minor letdown."

But he added: "Still, the strength of the numbers, paired with the pipeline of Blackwell chip orders, is enough to keep the dream alive."

Markets in Asia were mixed in early trade, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Manila in negative territory, while Singapore, Seoul, Wellington and Jakarta slipped.

Bitcoin topped out at more than $95,004 as it continued its march to the $100,000 mark on expectations Donald Trump will push through measures to ease regulations on cryptocurrencies. It has surged almost 40 percent since the US election at the start of the month.

Investors have also been spooked by developments in the Ukraine war after Russia said Kyiv had fired US-supplied missiles into the country. That was followed by reports that UK-supplied rockets had also been used.

After Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that the use of US missiles showed Western countries wanted to "escalate" the conflict, adding that "we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia".

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons.

Investors are also keeping watch on Trump's picks for his cabinet, with the fingering of China hawk Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary fuelling worries of another painful trade war.

Lutnick has expressed support for a tariff level of 60 percent on Chinese goods, alongside a 10 percent tariff on all other imports.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,033.22 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,691.54

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,361.09

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0547 from $1.0545 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2654 from $1.2652

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.95 yen from 155.45 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.35 pence from 83.33 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $69.11 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $73.14 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,408.47 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,085.07 (close)

L.Hussein--SF-PST