Markets Today: Markets Digest NVIDIA Earnings, FTSE Eyes Head and Shoulder Breakout. Euro Area Consumer Confidence and US GDP Data Ahead

[Ben Graham]

Asia Market Wrap - China Chipmakers Rally

Most Read: Nvidia releases earnings and getting ready for the monthly US GDP release – Market wrap for the North American session - August 27

Stock prices in Asia were unstable on Thursday due to worries about the future business of the major AI company, Nvidia, in China.

These concerns hurt the Asian companies that supply parts to Nvidia, causing their stock prices to fall. At the same time, the situation was very good for Nvidia's competitors in China, whose stock prices jumped significantly.

This mix of positive and negative news created a lot of uncertainty, leading the overall Asian market to finish the day slightly lower. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS swung between gains and losses, and was last down 0.4%. The Nikkei 225 was last up 0.7%.

It was a great day for Nvidia's competitors in China, as their stock prices soared. SMIC saw its stock jump over 9%, while another rival, Cambricon Technologies, saw its stock climb more than 8%. The performance of these two companies was so strong that they single-handedly lifted a major index of Chinese tech stocks (STAR 50 Index) by 5%.

There was also a report which stated that local Chinese companies plan to increase AI chip output next year.

Bank of Japan official Nakagawa, confirmed that they will continue to raise interest rates as long as the economy grows as they expect. He emphasized that the bank is paying very close attention to a major business confidence survey scheduled for October 1st. The results of this survey will be crucial for understanding how recent trade negotiations have been affecting Japanese companies.

European Open - NVIDIA Outlook Eases AI Slowdown Fears

On Thursday morning, European stock markets went up, mostly because the major AI chip company, Nvidia, reported strong results, which eased investor worries about the AI industry. However, there is still some uncertainty about Nvidia's future business in China.

The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 0.3% at 556.53.

This news led to mixed results for other European chip companies, as Nvidia's forecast, while still very good, wasn't as spectacular as some investors had hoped. Individual stocks such as ASML and BESI edged lower while ASM international rose around 1%.

Overall, it was a positive start to the day for many European businesses, with the food delivery company Delivery Hero and the drinks maker Pernod Ricard seeing their stock prices rise 3.8% and 4% respectively after reporting good earnings.

The French stock market also recovered some of its losses from earlier in the week with the CAC 40 index up 0.7%. The losses earlier this week had been caused by political instability in the country.

On the FX front, the euro's value remained stable against the US dollar today at about $1.16. This follows a good period for the euro, which has been getting stronger for the last three weeks and is now up 2% for the month of August.

Meanwhile, the US dollar was generally weaker against other currencies. This is because most traders now believe that US interest rates will be cut next month. As an example of the dollar's weakness, its value fell 0.2% against the Japanese yen with the pair trading around 147.13 at the time of writing.

Currency Power Balance

Source: OANDA Labs

Oil prices saw a drop with Brent Crude down around 0.8% to trade at $67.49 per barrel.

Gold prices continue to hold near yesterday's highs, trading around the $3395/oz handle at the time of writing.

For more on Gold, read Gold (XAU/USD) Technical: Push up towards medium-term range resistance zone as Fed’s independence erodes

Economic Data Releases and Final Thoughts

Looking at the economic calendar, the European session will bring the ECB meeting minutes later in the session.

Before that though, we will get a look at Euro Area consumer confidence data which will be interesting after yesterdays disappointing German consumer confidence data yesterday.

The US session will however bring a flurry of data which includes jobless claims data and the highly anticipated US GDP QoQ 2nd estimates. The US economic growth (GDP) figure might be adjusted slightly higher than the original 3.0% estimate. Even if this news gives the US dollar a temporary boost, it probably won't last long.

Later tonight, a key US Federal Reserve official, Christopher Waller, is scheduled to give a speech. He is already in favor of lowering interest rates, and he might sound even more supportive of that idea after the recent jobs report confirmed his worries that the job market is getting weaker.

For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar. (click to enlarge)

Chart of the Day - FTSE 100

From a technical standpoint, the FTSE 100 has completed the head and shoulder pattern and is eyeing a potential breakout.

The period-14 RSI has also broken below the 50 neutral level, a sign that bearish momentum is now firmly in play.

If the head and shoulder pattern finally gets a breakout, there is a possibility of a 110 point decline toward the 9120 area which would line up perfectly with the 200-day MA. (yellow line).

Interesting inflection point for the FTSE 100 after multiple fresh all-time highs in the last few weeks. This sets the stage for a potential deeper retracement.

FTSE Daily Chart, August 27. 2025

Source: TradingView.com (click to enlarge)

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