Shares near two-month high as Nvidia revives AI trade confidence

After a busy week of central bank decisions across emerging markets, attention will turn to Friday's annual Jackson Hole symposium. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is due to make his debut speech at the gathering, though investors expect him to avoid giving a clear policy outlook. Markets in energy-importing developing economies also drew support from falling oil prices, which extended recent losses on expectations that talks between Iran and Qatar could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease supply disruptions linked to the Middle East war. In South Africa, the rand `ZAR=D3` edged 0.3% lower after domestic producer inflation slowed to 5.7% year-on-year in July. In emerging Europe, the Hungarian forint `EURHUF=` and Polish zloty `EURPLN=` weakened 0.7% and 0.3% against the euro, respectively. Hungary's government will raise the minimum old-age pension to 120,000 forints per month from 28,500 forints (`$91.55`) from January 1, 2027, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said. Raising the statutory minimum pension was a key pledge of Magyar's Tisza party ahead of April's election, which it won in a landslide. **HIGHLIGHTS:** - China's industrial profit growth cools as AI-linked sectors outpace - Vietnam PM seeks higher quality tech investments from Chinese firms - Thai July exports rise 21.6% y/y, beating forecast as factory output rises The index `.KS11` surged 1.5% on Thursday after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3%, in line with market expectations. The won `KRW=KFTC` strengthened 0.5%, holding near an 11-month high against the dollar. "Further rate hikes would risk adding to the drag on consumer spending, strengthening the case for the BoK to proceed cautiously from here," said Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics. "The won has strengthened recently, reducing the risk that currency weakness feeds through into higher import costs." The Philippine central bank also raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 5%, as expected, its third hike in a row. The peso `PHP=` fell 0.4%, while Philippine stocks `.PSI` declined 2.2%. Still, risk appetite held up, particularly in Asia's tech-heavy markets, after Nvidia's `NVDA.O` strong revenue outlook boosted demand for AI- and hardware-related shares. China's blue-chip CSI 300 index `.CSI300` rose 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite `.SSEC` gained 1.1%. Taiwanese shares `.TWII` advanced 0.3%. Nvidia's results helped revive confidence in the AI trade following bouts of volatility earlier this year, including South Korean index KOSPI's sharp drop in July. Emerging-market stocks and currencies rose on Thursday, buoyed by gains in Asian technology shares after AI bellwether Nvidia's upbeat outlook, while investors weighed interest-rate decisions in South Korea and the Philippines. The MSCI emerging markets equity index `.MSCIEF` rose 0.4%, hovering near a two-month high and on track for a third straight positive session. Its currency counterpart `.MIEM00000CUS` edged up 0.1% to a fresh peak, poised for a seventh straight day of gains after hitting several all-time highs this month. Emerging markets have been supported by a weaker U.S. dollar following softer U.S. data earlier this month, as well as renewed interest in "dollar-debasement" trades after the U.S. Treasury last week announced a temporary increase in buybacks of longer-dated Treasuries. The dollar recovered some ground after data on Wednesday showed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge remained elevated.

Shares near two-month high as Nvidia revives AI trade confidence

Other emerging-market moves

South Korea and the Philippines raise rates

Asian technology shares rebound after Nvidia outlook

Emerging-market assets rise on Nvidia-driven tech optimism

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