Wall Street waits for Nvidia results; ASX set to rise
staff reporter
Updated ,first published
The Australian stock market extended its rally on Thursday, continuing its record-breaking rise after US chipmaker Nvidia, which is at the heart of the AI revolution, reported results that beat Wall Street expectations and eased concerns about the AI boom.
Technology shares were on the rise again, with the S&P/ASX 200 index rising 47 points, or 0.5 per cent, to an all-time high of 9175.30. The gains came after the ASX rose 1.2 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was trading at 71.29¢ at 4.22pm AEDT.
Qantas shares fell 9.2 per cent into the red after rising as much as 4.1 per cent in early trade. The airline reported record half-year earnings of $1.46 billion as fuel-efficient Airbus planes replaced its aging domestic fleet. While the result came in slightly above analysts’ expectations, eToro’s Josh Gilbert said the improvements were mostly thanks to new aircraft, and travel demand was starting to look “a little concerning,” especially for flights to the United States.
In other earnings news, fund manager Perpetual jumped 8.3 per cent after reporting first-half net profit rose to $53.9 million, up more than $40 million on the same half last year.
Super Retail shares gained 8.4 per cent after the company posted a 4.2 per cent increase in half-year sales to $2.2 billion, despite statutory profits falling 19.8 per cent. Macpac stores recorded the biggest growth of Super Retail’s four brands, increasing sales by 13.1 per cent; It was followed by Supercheap Auto, which grew 5.1 percent. Rebel’s sales increased 4.8 percent, while BCF increased 0.3 percent.
Hospital operator Ramsay Health Care gained 10.4 per cent after it said first-half net profit rose 9.1 per cent.
Mining stocks also rose after iron ore prices rose overnight. BHP once again broke a new record, rising by 2.2 percent to $57.75. Rio Tinto gained 3.7 percent. Lynas Rare Earths gained 1.2 percent after reporting increases in production, sales and profits for December.
Lithium miners are on the rise after Zimbabwe, one of the world’s biggest producers, suspended concentrate exports, raising fears that battery material supplies will tighten. Lithium prices have nearly doubled since November. Local producers PLS Group and Mineral Resources gained 8.3 percent and 4 percent respectively.
However, it was technology stocks that once again powered the rise in the local market. The sector rose 5.5 percent on the back of gains in U.S. technology stocks. Software maker WiseTech Global, which said Wednesday it would cut nearly a third of its workforce as developers are replaced by artificial intelligence, rose 2.6 percent. Accounting software makers Xero and TechnologyOne gained 8.6 percent and 6.4 percent respectively, while artificial intelligence data center operator NextDC gained 2.4 percent.
On the losing end, BlueScope Steel shares fell 2.3 per cent after its board turned down this month’s sweet $14.2 billion takeover offer from Kerry Stokes’ holding company SGH and US bidding partner Steel Dynamics as too low. The proposed cash price of $32.35 “does not adequately address our valuation concerns,” the company’s president, Jane McAloon, wrote in a letter to bidders.
Yancoal fell 8.4 percent, dragging the energy sector down. The coal producer said Wednesday that profits fell by more than half last year as fossil fuel prices fell.
Online luxury retailer Cettire has lost 25.6 percent of its value after surprising investors with a $1.1 million loss in December, driven by declining demand for luxury brands and uncertainty about Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Its auditors, Grant Thornton, warned that there was “material uncertainty that may cast serious doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
U.S. stocks rose overnight on Wall Street, erasing losses so far in the week as Nvidia’s higher profit expectations boosted tech stocks. The AI chip maker, which has become the US market’s largest stock by value, did not disappoint when it announced its results after the closing bell; But with expectations skyrocketing, there was a lukewarm reaction from investors to his predictions.
Nvidia’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 73 percent from the previous year to US$68.1 billion ($95.7 billion), while profits nearly doubled to nearly US$43 billion. It also generated approximately $78 billion in revenue in the quarter, where analysts saw a figure below $72.3 billion. Its shares, which rose 1.4 percent during the session, increased only 0.2 percent in after-hours trading.
The stock had helped the S&P 500 rise for a second straight day after Monday’s decline, as investors tried to separate the losers from the winners in the AI boom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3 percent.
Nvidia’s earnings reports have become a bellwether for global markets, not just because they’re so big, but because of how much of an impact the AI boom is having on its moves overall. In recent years, the artificial intelligence craze has helped stocks race to record after record in the hope that it will revolutionize the economy and make it more productive.
But recently, concerns have grown about whether companies like Alphabet and Amazon are spending so much on Nvidia chips and other equipment that they may never recoup their investments through productivity gains in the future. If this leads to a pullback in spending, it will directly impact Nvidia. The chipmaker’s latest report helped alleviate such near-term concerns.
“Our customers are racing to invest in AI computing, the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth,” said Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang.
Investors have also begun to focus on companies and sectors that could be hurt by AI-powered rivals, selling stocks seen as potentially threatened, and there have been spasms in seemingly disparate sectors such as software, trucking logistics and legal services.
This comes on top of other concerns already weighing on the market, including new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump to replace those struck down by the Supreme Court.
“While these concerns are real, we believe investors would be wise to balance them by balancing trends that may be underappreciated in the current wall of anxiety headline cycle,” said Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management.
These include the solid profit growth that US companies have reported so far for the end of 2025. This has helped strengthen some corners of the U.S. stock market, including shares of smaller companies, that had previously been overshadowed by the AI craze and Big Tech.
