Stocks edge higher as Nvidia-induced rally rolls on

Global equities pushed higher Friday as investors digested a record-breaking week powered by US technology titan Nvidia's blockbuster results and the artificial intelligence boom.

Wall Street's main indices edged up at the opening bell, with the Dow and S&P 500 moving up from record highs, and the Nasdaq Composite adding to the three percent gain it made on Thursday.

In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris pushed higher though London was flat in afternoon trading.

Most Asian shares climbed, following a day of record highs in Japanese, US and eurozone markets on Thursday. But Tokyo was closed for a public holiday, one day after the Nikkei 225's record finish.

Oil prices sank however on demand fears after Federal Reserve policymakers appeared to commit the US central bank to higher-for-longer interest rates.

And the price of natural gas in Europe fell to a nearly three-year low, dampening inflation fears, as mild winter weather continues and stockpiles hold up.

AI bandwagon

"The focus of financial markets in the last 48 hours has been Nvidia's earnings report and its upbeat commentary about the future take-up of AI," said XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks.

"Nvidia's market capitalisation gained $277 billion on Thursday alone, the biggest one-day increase in market cap ever."

Markets celebrated Thursday as Nvidia helped push Tokyo's benchmark index past a record high set in 1989, and the euphoria spilled over onto Wall Street, with the blue-chip Dow lodging its first close above 39,000 points.

"The emergence of AI as a huge new source of investment and growth has come at a particularly advantageous time, enabling a continued push into record highs despite an unwelcome environment of tight monetary policy in the face of global inflationary pressures," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

Other tech giants, including Facebook owner Meta, Amazon and Microsoft -- among Nvidia's largest customers -- also saw gains on Thursday.

In New York, Nvidia shares rose more than three percent at the opening bell, adding to the 16.4 percent on Thursday that lifted its market value to almost $2 trillion as investors cheered quarterly profits hitting $12.3 billion on record-high revenue.

"There are still investors who want to jump on the AI bandwagon, and they are doing this through Nvidia," Brooks said.

Briefing.com's Patrick O'Hare said a bit of calm had settled over the market after Thursday's frenzy.

"Yesterday's gains were material in many instances, so there is an understandable desire to wait and see if there will be follow-through buying efforts or if these stocks, and the broader market, will be subjected to a consolidation trade," he said.

Investors meanwhile digested the outlook for US interest rates.

On Thursday, three Fed officials signalled that interest rate cuts would more than likely come later this year, with one suggesting he wanted to see "at least another couple more months of inflation data" before deciding when to start lowering rates.

"Oil prices dipped... as the market absorbed the Fed's commitment to prolonging higher interest rates," said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

"The surprising resilience of the US economy, evident in the latest data, provides the Fed with greater leeway to sustain its restrictive monetary policy for an extended period.

"This dynamic constrains economic growth and suggests reduced future oil demand, contributing to the price decline," he said.

Key figures around 1430 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 39,159.91 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,102.42

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 16,097.73

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,685.25

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 17,406.32

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,963.55

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 4,876.83

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for holiday

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 16,725.86 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,004.88 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0837 from $1.0823 on Thursday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.43 yen from 150.53 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2695 from $1.2660

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.35 pence from 85.48 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.2 percent at $76.92 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.9 percent at $82.07 per barrel