Global shares rose yesterday, powered by a rise in technology stocks after US President Donald Trump announced mammoth spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure, while the dollar sagged to a two-week low as tariffs were delayed.
Late on Tuesday, Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle will form a joint venture and invest up to $500 billion to build data AI centres.
Shares of SoftBank surged 10.6 per cent in Tokyo, while Oracle gained 7.1pc on Wall Street, adding to the previous day’s 7.2pc jump.
That helped lift the tech-heavy Nasdaq 1.3pc. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.7pc, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2pc. The MSCI index of world shares rose 0.5pc.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 4.5820pc.
European shares were higher despite threats of US import tariffs, with Trump again vowing to hit the European Union with fresh levies. But Europe was breathing a sigh of relief as many investors and foreign capitals had expected tariffs to be implemented on Trump’s first day in office, as promised during his campaign.
The pan-continental STOXX 600 were up 0.3pc after hitting a record intraday high. Blue-chips in Frankfurt and London also hit new intraday peaks before pulling back.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.6pc, lifted by the near 11pc rise in SoftBank shares.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, however, were flat as drops in Chinese and Hong Kong stocks offset broad gains elsewhere.
Chinese blue chips fell 0.9pc and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.6pc.
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