Sawt Falasteen - Stocks advance on fall in bond yields as Nvidia optimism boosts Nasdaq

The tech-rich Nasdaq enjoyed outsized gains in anticipation of earnings from artificial intelligence player Nvidia.

Analysts said stocks were supported by a drop in yields of the 10-year US Treasury note, which had hit multi-year peaks in recent sessions.

The retreat in yields followed meager purchase managing index data from the United States and Europe, suggesting a slowing economy.

The drop in yields "created a little bit of an opportunity to buy on some of the weakness," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

All three major US indices climbed, with the Nasdaq jumping 1.6 percent.

European markets closed higher following data showing Britain's economic activity contracting for the first time in six months while the downturn in the eurozone deepened.

Sentiment has taken a hit in recent weeks owing to a spike in US Treasury yields to around 15-year highs, fueled by expectations that a strong economy will force the Federal Reserve to stick to its campaign of monetary tightening.

That has forced investors to push back their expectations as to when borrowing costs will eventually come down -- just a few months ago, they were betting on a cut by the end of the year.

All eyes are on a planned speech Friday by Fed chief Jerome Powell, with dealers hoping for some clarity on its plans to keep inflation on a downward path and confirmation of the central bank's two percent target.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell as the data showing weak economic activity doesn't bode well for demand.

"Today’s disappointing economic numbers on both sides of the Atlantic have cut the rug out from underneath crude oil prices, falling to one-month lows, and down over four percent from their peaks of earlier this month," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK.

- Nvidia -

Tech shares were also buoyed by hopes that a strong Nvidia report would "get the market back on track," said O'Hare.

The firm's shares have rocketed this year, helping boost many other tech firms, even as traders fret over the impact of higher borrowing costs on their bottom lines.

In results released after Wednesday's closing bell, Nvidia crushed expectations.

The Silicon Valley-based chip company said sales doubled year-on-year to $13.5 billion in the latest completed quarter, leaving a net profit of $6.2 billion -- an eye-watering 843 percent higher than a year before.

Signaling that the boom in AI is still going strong, Nvidia said revenue in its current quarter would ramp up further to $16 billion.

Shares of Nvidia surged more than eight percent in after-hours trading.

- Key figures around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 34,472.98 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 4,436.01 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 13,721.03 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,320.53 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 15,728.41 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,246.62 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,266.67 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 32,010.26 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 17,845.92 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,078.40 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0868 from $1.0846 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2727 from $1.2732

Euro/pound: UP at 85.40 pence from 85.18 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.80 from 145.89 yen

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $78.89 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $83.21 per barrel

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F.AbuZaid--SF-PST