Wall Street and Asian stocks edge higher, boosted by AI hype and investments in tech and energy stocks

Wall Street and Asian stocks edge higher, boosted by AI hype and investments in tech and energy stocks.

Wall Street and Asian stocks are up by the AI hyper and the recent all-time high of the Japanese yen.

The Wall Street main indexes were higher in the previous trading session, moving to close the week with the highest gains this month. The new AI platform, Sora, has made everyone go crazy about it. It comes in a week when virtual glasses by Meta and Apple have been competing with each other.

This week, ChatGot’s CEO announced its new artificially intelligent Sora. The platform is more capable and advanced than regular chatGPT platforms. This platform will allow you to create detailed videos with just words.

In other economic news, the labor market is strong with no signs of collapsing. This is supported by the latest numbers given by the Bureau of Statistics this Wednesday. Initial jobless claims decreased by 8,000 to 212,000, showcasing continued strength in the labor market. At the same time, the unemployment rate remains the same, mainly due to the increasing number of layoffs in the tech sector last month. on the same day. Retail sales reps were reduced, and unexpectedly, sales were down more than anticipated. Retail sales fell by 0.8% last month, exceeding economists’ expectations of a 0.2% decline. The drop in sales was mainly driven by decreases in auto dealership and gas station receipts. Morgan Stanley predicts a first-rate cut in June, indicating the economy is strong but cooling. Still, other economics suggest that interest rates might rise earlier than expected.

Moving to the Asian stock market, Asian stocks edged higher this week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% to 38,485.0 points, nearing its all-time high of 38,915 points. The surge was led by technology and chip-related stocks due to excitement around AI technology. Japanese stocks are expected to continue rallying in 2024, with the Nikkei potentially reaching 45,000 points, according to analysts at Citi. The TOPIX index, less focused on tech, also rose by 1%. This optimism is supported by expectations that the Bank of Japan will postpone interest rate hikes following news of a recession. Additionally, broader Asian markets, including Philippine and Indonesian shares, saw modest gains.

On top of that, due to the announcement of the Sora platform, chipmaking sectors were the top gainers. This includes Ssia stocks and cHinses stocks in the first place. Since Asia is the largest contractor with chip-making factories, this news has boosted the Asian market gains all this week.

Moving to Wall Street and the stock market, the jump in energy prices has brought the S&P 500’s broader gains to a record high. The index reached a new closing record of 5,031.02, marking a 0.5% increase. Dow futures surged by 249 points, or 0.9%, while Nasdaq 100 futures saw a more modest gain of 0.30%.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) stock prices rose by more than 5% this Thursday, leading the way in the energy sector. His surge followed news that Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKa) had increased its stake in the oil major by approximately 9% in the fourth quarter. On top of this news, Occidental Petroleum has recently reported its quarterly earnings results, which came in higher than market expectations.