Key Takeaways Nikkei 225 tops 59,000 as BOJ dovish shift and tech rally fuel Japan stocks. EWJ has gained 14.5% YTD, offering exposure to 181 large and mid-cap Japanese firms.FLJP tracks 487 Japanese stocks and is up 14.9% YTD with a 9 bps expense ratio. The Japanese equity market is capturing global headlines as the Nikkei 225 surged to a historic milestone, crossing a record high of 59,000 for the first time on Feb. 25, 2026. This milestone underscores how renewed optimism surrounding Japan’s economy and ...

Core Insights - Asian tech stocks experienced a rally due to stronger-than-expected results from Nvidia, alleviating concerns about the artificial intelligence sector's momentum [1][4] - Nvidia's revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter increased by 73% to $68.13 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations [4] Group 1: Company Performance - Shares of South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose significantly, with SK Hynix increasing over 2% and Samsung up about 5% [1] - Other South Korean tech stocks also saw gains, with LG Innotek surging almost 14% and Seoul Semiconductor soaring 13% [2] - Japanese software firm Trend Micro jumped 5.95%, while Sony Group rose over 3.86% and SoftBank Group added 5% [3] Group 2: Market Trends - The demand for data centers is driving positive sentiment for companies in the Asia supply chain, particularly for SK Hynix and Samsung [2] - The TOPIX Information & Communication index in Japan climbed 2.6%, building on a previous day's gain of 0.58% [2] - Investors are favoring AI-linked companies, indicating potential upside for Japanese firms involved in gallium nitride and silicon carbide, such as Fuji Electric, which saw a 1.7% increase [3] Group 3: Financial Performance - Nvidia's data center unit now accounts for over 91% of its sales, highlighting its dominance in the AI chip market [4] - Dan Niles from Niles Investment Management noted that the current market conditions favor semiconductor infrastructure companies over software [4] Group 4: Mixed Performance - Japanese chip firms Advantest and Renesas experienced declines, with shares down 2.35% and 1.75% respectively [5]

Market Performance - The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) benchmark index increased by 1.2%, reaching a multi-month peak of 1,483.63 points, driven by investor confidence following recent election results indicating prolonged political stability under a new coalition government [2][9] - Major contributors to the market rally included Delta Electronics Thailand (DELTA) and True Corp (TRUE), with a total increase in investor wealth of 1.2 trillion baht over the past week [2][3] Sector Highlights - PTT Oil & Retail Business (OR) saw a rise of 2.9%, while Bumrungrad Hospital (BH) increased by 2.4%, reflecting positive market sentiment [3] - Infrastructure and energy firms such as Gulf Energy Development (GULF) and WHA Corp (WHA) attracted significant interest as the new government emphasized debt-relief and investment-led growth [3] International Developments - In India, the AI Impact Summit in Delhi continued despite Bill Gates canceling his keynote address, with the event featuring global leaders from companies like Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and OpenAI [4] - South American markets are closely watching political developments in Peru, where Jose Balcazar has been named interim president following the impeachment of President Jose Jeri, marking the ninth leader in a decade [5][9] Regional Market Trends - Broader Asia-Pacific markets exhibited mixed performance, with the Nikkei 225 facing challenges due to disappointing preliminary GDP data, while the ASX 200 found support from the mining sector, highlighted by a 28% increase in half-year net profit from BHP Group (BHP) [6]

Core Insights - SoftBank Group exited its position in Nvidia, selling approximately 32.11 million shares, reducing its stake to zero by the end of Q4 2025, with the sale valued between $5.5 billion and $6.6 billion [1][3] Portfolio Adjustments - SoftBank significantly reduced its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company by 16,637,036 shares, a 36.90% decrease, leaving it with 28,503,696 shares valued at approximately $5.78 billion, representing 37.42% of its disclosed portfolio [4] - The firm fully exited its position in Microsoft, selling 2,536,481 shares, resulting in a 100% reduction [4] - SoftBank also reduced its holdings in Lemonade by 2,638,426 shares, a 74.03% decrease, ending with 925,496 shares valued at about $65.9 million [5] - The company trimmed its Roku holdings by 1,030,976 shares, a 7.03% reduction, leaving 13,636,515 shares worth roughly $55.8 million [5] New Investments - SoftBank initiated a new position in Uber Technologies, acquiring 18,497 shares, and established a new stake in AbCellera Biologics with 345,161 shares [5]

Japan’s technology investor SoftBank Group exited its position in Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) during the fourth quarter of 2025 in a major realignment of its over $15 billion portfolio.According to the filing, the investment giant dumped about 32.11 million NVDA shares, reducing its stake to zero by the end of the period.Based on the dates, Nvidia likely traded between approximately $170 and $206 during the quarter, putting the total value of the sale at an estimated $5.5 billion to $6.6 billion. SoftBank portfol ...

Economic Overview - The UK unemployment rate has risen to 5.2%, the highest level in nearly five years, indicating a potential upward trend in joblessness [14] - Average weekly earnings growth has decreased to 4.2%, down from 4.6% in November, which is below market expectations [14] - The jobs market is showing signs of distress, with private sector wages not keeping pace with inflation for the first time in two and a half years [1][2] Labor Market Insights - The single month jobless rate is currently at 5.4%, with expectations that it could climb higher as redundancies are anticipated [2] - The number of payrolled employees fell by 11,000 month-to-month in January, following a drop of 6,000 in December, which was better than the consensus forecast of a 20,000 decline [15] - Youth unemployment has reached a new high of 16.1%, highlighting ongoing challenges in the labor market [3] Company Performance - Antofagasta reported a 53% increase in pre-tax profits, with earnings per share more than doubling, driven by higher copper prices and disciplined cost control [3] - The final dividend declared by Antofagasta was 48 cents, lower than the consensus estimate of 56.5 cents, while revenue of $8.6 billion was in line with forecasts [4] - InterContinental Hotels announced a 10% increase in its dividend and a $950 million share buyback following a year of record hotel openings [9] Market Reactions - The FTSE 100 opened higher, gaining 39 points, with companies previously affected by the 'AI scare trade' leading the way [7] - Miners, including Antofagasta and Fresnillo, were among the main fallers as copper and precious metals prices declined [8] - The pound has weakened by 0.5% against the dollar, influenced by rising unemployment and softer wage growth, which have increased the likelihood of a Bank of England rate cut [12]

Economic Indicators - The U.S. consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in January, lower than the expected 0.3 percent increase, following a 0.3 percent rise in December [2][20] - The annual growth rate of consumer prices slowed to 2.4 percent in January from 2.7 percent in December, below the anticipated 2.5 percent [2][20] - Core consumer prices, excluding food and energy, increased by 0.3 percent in January, matching expectations, while the annual growth rate dipped to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent [3][21] Stock Market Reactions - Major U.S. stock indices experienced a sell-off, with the Nasdaq dropping 469.32 points (2.0 percent), the S&P 500 falling 108.71 points (1.6 percent), and the Dow declining 669.42 points (1.3 percent) [5] - The sell-off was partly driven by concerns regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on various industries, including financial, transportation, logistics, and commercial real estate [6][8] - Cisco Systems saw a significant drop of 12.3 percent after reporting better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results but providing disappointing guidance for the current quarter [6] Sector Performance - The NYSE Arca Networking Index fell by 3.0 percent, influenced by Cisco's performance [7] - Gold stocks experienced substantial weakness, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index declining by 6.9 percent due to a drop in gold prices [7] - Transportation stocks also faced significant declines, with the Dow Jones Transportation Index plunging by 4.0 percent amid AI concerns [7] International Market Impact - Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower, with concerns over AI's impact on various sectors influencing investor sentiment [12] - European stocks showed mixed results, with the French CAC 40 Index down by 0.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively [18]

Economic Indicators - The number of Americans filing for initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000, compared to the expected 222,000 [2] - U.S. existing home sales decreased by 8.4% month-over-month to a 16-month low of 3.91 million, weaker than the expected 4.16 million [2] - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% annually, a notable drop from the previous month, with a monthly increase of 0.2% [5] Stock Market Performance - Wall Street's major indices ended in the red, with significant declines in the Magnificent Seven stocks, including Apple (AAPL) down 5% and Tesla (TSLA) down over 2% [4] - Cisco Systems (CSCO) plunged over 12% after reporting weaker-than-expected FQ2 adjusted gross margin and issuing tepid FQ3 guidance [4] - Equinix (EQIX) surged over 10% after issuing strong FY26 guidance, marking it as the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 [4] Corporate Earnings - Notable companies such as Moderna (MRNA) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP) are set to release their quarterly results [6] - Pinterest (PINS) plunged over 19% in pre-market trading after reporting weaker-than-expected Q4 revenue and issuing below-consensus Q1 revenue guidance [13] - Applied Materials (AMAT) surged over 11% in pre-market trading after posting stronger-than-expected FQ1 results and issuing strong FQ2 guidance [13] International Market Developments - The Euro Stoxx 50 Index is down 0.09% as investors digest fresh corporate earnings reports and await key U.S. inflation data [7] - Eurozone's GDP growth for the fourth quarter stood at 0.3%, in line with preliminary estimates [8] - Spain's annual inflation rate eased more than expected in January, with CPI falling 0.4% month-over-month and rising 2.3% year-over-year [8] Pre-Market Movements - U.S. steel stocks slid in pre-market trading after reports of President Trump's plans to roll back some tariffs on steel and aluminum products, with Steel Dynamics (STLD) down over 4% [12] - Most chip stocks are moving lower in pre-market trading, with Micron Technology (MU) and Intel (INTC) falling more than 1% [12]

Market Overview - Asian markets are experiencing declines, influenced by significant losses in technology stocks on Wall Street due to investor concerns about potential disruptions from artificial intelligence [1][4] - U.S. futures are also lower, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both down by 0.2% [2] Stock Performance - Tokyo's Nikkei 225 decreased by 1.2% to 56,941.97, with SoftBank Group, focused on AI, dropping 8.9% despite reporting a quarterly profit of $1.6 billion [2] - South Korea's Kospi fell 0.3% to 5,507.01, while Samsung Electronics rose 1.5% [2] - Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined by 1.7% to 26,575.84, and the Shanghai Composite index was down 1% to 4,091.65 [3] - In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.4% lower at 8,917.60 [3] Wall Street Performance - Wall Street experienced sharp losses, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.6% to 6,832.76, marking its second-worst day since Thanksgiving [4] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 49,451.98, and the Nasdaq composite lost 2% to 22,597.15 [4] Company-Specific News - Cisco Systems saw a significant decline of 12.3% despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, raising concerns about ongoing profitability [5] - AppLovin's shares plunged 19.7% despite also reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits, as fears over AI's impact weighed on its stock [5] Analyst Perspectives - Some analysts express concerns about the uncertainties surrounding AI disruptions, particularly affecting investor confidence in software stocks [6] - Conversely, economists at Capital Economics remain optimistic about the AI sector, predicting a good year for the S&P 500 driven by technology-led gains [7] - Thomas Mathews from Capital Economics noted that a significant reversal in tech performance would require a substantial decline in the tech sector itself [7] Economic Indicators - Investors are closely monitoring upcoming U.S. inflation data, which could influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, with expectations of low likelihood for another rate cut in the near term [8] - In commodity markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil prices fell slightly, while gold and silver prices saw gains [9]

Core Insights - SoftBank Group is a leading Japanese technology investment company known for its Vision Fund, which invests in global technology firms [1] - The company reported earnings per share of $0.27, exceeding estimates of $0.20, primarily due to strategic investments in OpenAI [2][6] - SoftBank's Vision Fund achieved a quarterly gain of $2.4 billion, significantly influenced by its investment in OpenAI, which helped mitigate losses from other investments [2][6] Financial Performance - SoftBank generated revenue of approximately $12.62 billion, slightly below the estimated $12.65 billion, but returned to profitability with a net profit of 248.59 billion yen (approximately $1.62 billion) for the quarter [3] - The company's financial metrics show a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 2.28, indicating a low valuation relative to earnings, while the enterprise value to operating cash flow ratio is negative at -108.13, suggesting operational cash flow challenges [4] - The debt-to-equity ratio stands at approximately 1.41, indicating a higher level of debt compared to equity, and the current ratio is around 0.93, which may signal difficulties in meeting short-term liabilities [5] Investment Strategy - Despite the challenges indicated by financial metrics, SoftBank's earnings yield is approximately 43.92%, suggesting a high return on investment [5]