- The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index rose 0.4% amid intraday fluctuations, as positive expectations for the AI supply chain partially offset geopolitical risk premiums.
- Anthropic secretly filed for an initial public offering, and Alphabet (GOOG:US) plans to raise $80 billion to expand AI infrastructure, boosting sentiment in the tech sector, with Nvidia's (NVDA:US) production capacity becoming a core focus.
- The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 3.3% intraday, as May's core inflation data hit a two-year high, raising expectations for tighter policy from the Bank of Korea (BOK), while Brent crude futures fell back to the $94 range.
Tech Giants' Capital Expenditure Reshapes Valuation Expectations
Rumors of AI developer Anthropic's IPO valuation reaching $1 trillion, combined with Alphabet's (GOOG:US) post-market announcement of an $80 billion equity financing plan (including investment from Berkshire Hathaway), are driving a reevaluation of pricing for AI infrastructure expansion. Alphabet's stock fell 0.7% after hours. In the industry, Nvidia's (NVDA:US) management reiterated that CPU and GPU supply can meet high growth demand, but supply chain capacity bottlenecks remain a medium-term variable. If AI capital expenditure continues to exceed expectations, the valuation center of related hardware suppliers may adjust.
Geopolitical Situation and Oil Risk Premium Decline
After Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, Brent crude futures (BRN1!) fell 0.9% to $94.13 per barrel, giving back some of the previous geopolitical risk premium. Given the repeated setbacks in indirect ceasefire talks in the Middle East since April, the market remains cautious in pricing the regional peace process. If uncertainty in oil supply continues to ease, it may marginally weaken the input pressure on global inflation.
Macroeconomic Data and Long-Term Performance of U.S. Stocks
The U.S. May ISM Manufacturing PMI recorded 54.0, significantly rising from the previous 52.7, marking a four-year high. Analysts noted that supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts prompted companies to restock in advance, boosting manufacturing sentiment. The S&P 500 Index (SPX:US) closed up 0.3% overnight, marking the longest nine-week consecutive rise since the end of 2023. Amid rising energy costs and high real interest rates, U.S. core equity assets show some resilience.
Bank of Korea's Tightening Expectations and Regional Market Divergence
Equity asset performance in the Asian region is mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (NI225:JP) fell 0.7%, while the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) hit a record high before profit-taking led to a maximum intraday drop of 3.3%. Semiconductor heavyweights like Samsung Electronics (005930:KS) and SK Hynix (000660:KS) showed significant volatility. On the macroeconomic front, South Korea's May consumer price index accelerated to a more than two-year high, reinforcing market pricing for the Bank of Korea (BOK) to shift towards tightening monetary policy, putting pressure on the won exchange rate and local liquidity expectations.
Cross-Asset Performance and Liquidity Observation
The foreign exchange market traded steadily, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY), which measures the dollar's strength against a basket of six currencies, holding steady at the 99.15 range. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell 4.5 basis points to 4.43%. Precious metals showed safe-haven attributes, with gold (GOLD) prices rising 0.9% to $4,523.58. Cryptocurrency assets were generally under pressure, with Bitcoin (BTC:US) falling 1.1% to $70,599.26 and Ethereum (ETH:US) down 0.5% to $1,992.04. If macro liquidity expectations change, the volatility of high-risk assets may increase accordingly.
