Market Performance - Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 2.2% to 26,189.79, with technology stocks leading the rally [4] - South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.5% to 4,277.94, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,727.30 [4] - Chinese tech majors saw significant gains, with Alibaba jumping 3.2% and Baidu rallying 7.5% after announcing plans to spin off its AI chip unit, Kunlunxin [4] Economic Outlook - Asian equities are supported by optimism regarding the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, which is expected to drive demand for computer chips, data centers, and related infrastructure [4] - Despite weak manufacturing data, trade activity in the region has shown resilience, with exports from most countries surging in recent months [4] - The near-term outlook for Asia's export-oriented manufacturing sectors remains favorable according to Capital Economics [4] US Market Insights - US futures pointed higher, with S&P 500 futures up 0.5% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gaining 0.3% [3] - The S&P 500 rose 16.4% in 2025, setting 39 record highs, while the Nasdaq surged 20.4% and the Dow ended 13% higher [3] - Wall Street's rally was driven by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, strong corporate earnings, and three interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve [3] Commodity Prices - Silver rebounded 3.5% after a previous drop of 9.4%, gaining more than 140% in 2025 [5] - Gold rose 1.1%, ending the year with a 63.7% gain [5] - Oil prices increased, with US benchmark crude adding 35 cents to $57.77 per barrel and Brent crude climbing 35 cents to $61.20 per barrel [5]

Amazon's cloud unit raced to get the latest version of its artificial intelligence chip to market, renewing efforts to sell hardware capable of rivaling products from Nvidia and Google https://t.co/euGDh11jYv ...

Market Performance - U.S. equity markets are showing a mixed but generally positive performance, with major indexes holding steady as investors weigh a robust retail sales report against an anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting [1][3] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 0.10% to reach 45,881.91, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) increased by 0.80% to 22,318.03, and the S&P 500 (SP500) rose 0.43% to 6,612.52 [2] Corporate Developments - CoreWeave (CRWV) shares surged by 7.6% after Nvidia (NVDA) placed an order valued at "at least" $6.3 billion for its cloud technology, indicating strong demand in the AI sector [4] - Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) saw a sharp decline of 18.8% in pre-market trading after reporting earnings that fell short of expectations, with a 3% drop in same-store sales [5] - Seagate Technologies (STX) rallied 7.7% following an upgraded price target from Bank of America, reflecting renewed analyst confidence [6] - Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) dipped amid reports of an FTC investigation into bots on its platforms, introducing regulatory uncertainties [7] - Alaska Air Group (ALK) stock fell 6.7% as the airline projected profits at the lower end of estimates due to rising fuel costs and a technology outage [7] Upcoming Events - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is set to begin, with widespread expectations of an interest rate cut [9][10] - Key economic data releases include the August New Residential Construction report and Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims report, which will provide insights into the housing market and labor market trends [11] - FedEx Corp. (FDX) is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings, which could serve as a bellwether for global trade and logistics [12]