World stocks steady as Nvidia boost tempers Jackson Hole caution

MILAN, Aug 27 : Stocks steadied on Thursday as Nvidia's bullish outlook boosted tech shares, though caution ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech on Friday and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz checked appetite for risk.

Technology stocks rallied 1.8 per cent in Europe and were among the few sectors in positive territory after Nvidia forecast roughly 70 per cent revenue growth in the fiscal year ending January 2028.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down about 0.1 per cent by 1157 GMT, while growing concerns over the political outlook in France drove the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris to its lowest level in more than one month, down 1 per cent.

The MSCI All Country World Index was broadly unchanged, as gains in Asian technology shares and higher U.S. futures offset weakness in Europe.

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Nvidia's revenue forecast exceeded expectations, sending its shares up 6 per cent in U.S. premarket trade. The chipmaker also said shortages of memory components would limit the pace at which it can expand production.

"Nvidia has now surprised to the upside for several quarters in a row, consistently pairing strong results with ambitious forecasts. That provides another boost to the sector," said Marco Vailati, head of research and investments at Cassa Lombarda.

"Paradoxically, the main constraint at the moment seems to be production capacity rather than demand," he said, adding that the guidance should ease concerns about the sustainability of the AI spending boom.

In Paris, bank stocks fell 3-4 per cent as investors fretted about upcoming budget and next year's election risks, with the first presidential debate set to take place later on Thursday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was up 0.3 per cent, stretching gains into a third consecutive day. 

South Korea's KOSPI rose 1.5 per cent, paring earlier gains after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3 per cent, in line with market expectations. Taiwanese shares rose 0.3 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2 per cent.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures rose 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, after a weaker close on Wednesday when data showed the personal consumption expenditures index rose 0.2 per cent in July from the previous month after a 0.1 per cent decline in June.

"While July core PCE inflation came in line with consensus, the details of the release were more inflationary," wrote Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank.

He added that the strong economic momentum signalled by durable goods orders and GDP data was difficult to reconcile with the view that monetary policy remains restrictive.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were broadly steady at 4.66 per cent as investors awaited Warsh's Jackson Hole speech for further clues on the path of U.S. rates.

"I don't want to sound pessimistic, but the risks are asymmetric," Vailati said. "There is greater scope for a negative reaction if Warsh strikes a more restrictive stance than there is for a positive reaction if he simply sticks to the current message."     

Brent crude futures reversed earlier declines to trade 0.8 per cent higher at $88.5 as Qatar's prime minister prepared to visit Tehran in an effort to revive U.S.-Iran peace talks, with shipping traffic still far from normal.  

Gold was also steady at around $4,595 an ounce after a retreat on Wednesday.

On the cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin rose 1.3 per cent to $79,461 after briefly topping $80,000 this week for the first time in more than three months and ether gained 1.3 per cent to $2,504.

Alongside gold, both have been supported by a revival of "dollar debasement" trades after the U.S. Treasury Department intervened in bond markets last week. For the month, gold is up around 14 per cent, bitcoin 25 per cent and ether 34 per cent.      

The dollar index was little changed at 99.14, near its highest level of the past week.