Strong AI earnings put EM stocks on even keel ahead of US inflation data

These signals reassured investors, who have been quick to dismiss fears about excessive exuberance in AI stocks whenever earnings have shown demand still has room to run. "Even if there are 20%, 30% or 40% swings in a day, I'm all in on the sector because there's going to be insatiable demand over the coming years," said Phillip Lord, CEO of Bitcoin Japan `8105.T`, an AI and crypto-focused investment firm. A stalemate in Middle East peace talks still dampened the mood in global markets as investors weigh the potential inflationary impact of higher oil prices. Brent crude `LCOc1` rose for a seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, the longest streak of gains since April. That's "proving a roadblock in the way of a U.S. stock market that could otherwise be flirting with fresh all-time highs," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. The Indian rupee `INR=IN` was little changed as dollar sales from foreign banks did little to ease lingering oil price anxiety. China's yuan `CNY=CFXS` hovered near a 3-1/2-year high against the dollar on stronger official guidance. The MSCI index of EM currencies `.MIEM00000CUS` eked out 0.08% of gains. Romanian equities `.BETI` rose 0.80% after consumer price inflation fell to 8.16% in July, lower than the 10.42% reported in the previous month, but still above expectations. Markets will need to clear a fresh hurdle when the U.S. inflation print for July is released later in the day. A weak jobs report last week lowered the odds of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve, but analysts say inflation data is more crucial. "The (jobs) report didn't change the overall picture on the labour market. And more importantly, the Fed's reaction function is heavily skewed towards the inflation data," BofA Global strategists wrote. MSCI is also set to announce the results of a quarterly rebalance of its indexes later in the day. Emerging market stocks resumed their ascent after robust tech earnings reinforced AI optimism, while investors prepared to zero in on U.S. inflation due later on Wednesday. The MSCI index of EM stocks `.MSCIEF` rose 0.98%. Tech-heavy equity benchmarks in South Korea `.KS11` and Taiwan `.TWII` climbed 3.68% and 0.88%, respectively. AI cloud company CoreWeave `CRWV.O` lifted its target for 2026 revenue on Tuesday, while bets on strong demand for Super Micro Computer's `SMCI.O` AI-optimised servers helped the company forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above expectations. Taiwan's Foxconn `2317.TW`, the world's largest contract electronics maker, also beat analyst forecasts for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, on robust demand for AI.

Strong AI earnings put EM stocks on even keel ahead of US inflation data

AI demand keeps investor sentiment intact

US inflation data and EM currencies in focus

Emerging market stocks rise on tech earnings optimism

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