Asian stocks drop as Nvidia disappoints investors

Asian stocks dropped on Thursday as Nvidia reported slower revenue growth, disappointing investors. Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened, and bitcoin reached a new high on optimism about President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.

Geopolitical tensions, such as the conflict in Ukraine, boosted safe-haven assets like gold and government bonds.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.46 per cent, with Taiwan stocks down 0.58 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei dropping 0.8 per cent.

The dollar has been strengthening since the US election in early November due to expectations that proposed tariffs by the incoming Trump administration will lead to inflation and prolonged higher interest rates.

The dollar index, which compares the US currency to six other currencies, is currently at 106.58, close to its last week’s one-year high of 107.07. The index has increased by over two per cent since the election on November 5th.

In other commodity markets, Brent crude futures for January increased 0.23 per cent to $72.98, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January rose 0.25 per cent to $68.92. Gold prices also climbed for the fourth consecutive session, reaching $2,656 per ounce.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama