By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Technology shares got a boost from a resurgence of optimism over AI on Tuesday, while the broader equity market struggled to make much headway as oil rose back above $100 a barrel and bond yields headed higher once more.
The viral popularity of Meta Platforms’ Muse AI assistant since its launch two weeks ago sent the company’s stock soaring on Monday, reviving enthusiasm for the tech sector after grim warnings from AI chief executives a week earlier triggered a global selloff in AI-linked shares.
Semiconductors were among the few gainers in Europe on Tuesday, where the STOXX 600 fell 0.2%, having gained 1% the day before.
Meta shares jumped by more than 11% by the close on Monday in their largest one-day rise since April 2024, helping propel a range of AI-linked stocks, such as AMD, which hit the $1 trillion mark, while Intel and Arm Holdings jumped 12.2% and 17%, respectively.
“This suggests that demand for costly AI tools is robust and worth the hundreds of billions of capex spent by the hyperscalers,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said.
“If there is widespread adoption of Muse, it could add to demand for other AI tools, which could lift the AI sector, after a rough few months,” she said.
Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%, suggesting a slight dip at the open for the index, which hit record highs on Monday, while S&P futures were down 0.1%.
TRUMP-XI MEETING AWAITED
Attention is turning to a high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, with investors watching for any indications that the leaders of the world’s two largest economies can prevent a further deterioration in relations.
Xi arrives in Washington on Wednesday for the first time in more than a decade, helping fuel optimism that a trade truce deal between the two countries will be extended and there could be potential cooperation over artificial intelligence.
“For markets, the big question is what’s going to happen when the current one-year trade truce expires in November, and whilst the general tone remains positive, there still isn’t an agreement yet,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures were up 1.4% at $101.67 a barrel after dropping over 3% the day before, when they briefly fell below $100 for the first time in two weeks on the back of the possibility that Trump might meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to attend the UN General Assembly this week.
That said, oil futures are still up about 12% this month, and the physical market is showing that stress is creeping in. Prices for immediate delivery of some types of crude in northwest Europe, for example, are above $130, up nearly 50% so far in September.
RATE HIKES ON THE WAY
With energy prices showing no meaningful retreat, investors are pricing in another round of rate hikes from major central banks, which helped underpin the dollar, but pushed up global bond yields.
The dollar rose the most against the yen, up 0.26% at 157.7, hovering near a three-week high, as support faded for the Japanese currency from the expectation for quicker rate hikes from the Bank of Japan.
The BOJ raised rates last week to a 31-year high but two dissenting votes and lack of explicit hawkish guidance disappointed investors, leaving the yen vulnerable and stoking intervention jitters.
“FX intervention remains a blunt tool to prop up currencies, and without a forceful monetary policy response it will be difficult for Japanese authorities to rein in the selloff in the yen,” said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury.
The Federal Reserve, by contrast, raised rates last week and warned its fight against inflation was not over, keeping the door open to further tightening.
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six others, was near seven-week highs, as US 10-year Treasury yields edged up to 4.969%, not far off October 2023’s 16-year high.
(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill, Peter Graff)
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