Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia Edition

Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks dropped, tracking declines on Wall Street, as speculation about OpenAI's revenue revived concerns over the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence spending boom. Oil edged lower. The MSCI Asia Pacific equities index edged 0.1% lower early Friday. Japan's Nikkei fell over 1%, with Softbank Group Corp. declining more than 5%. The regional moves came after the Nasdaq 100 Index sank 1.4%, its worst day in seven weeks, while a US gauge of chipmakers slumped 3.4%. The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.5%. Markets are closed in South Korea and Taiwan.  The declines in the US followed a Financial Times report that OpenAI's annualized revenue was $20 billion below previously signaled levels. The ChatGPT maker is on track for roughly $50 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Also, Firmus Grid Ltd., an Australian data center company backed by Nvidia Corp., is set to postpone its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. We speak to Paul Dobson, Bloomberg's Executive Editor for Asia Markets.

And for more analysis on the market reaction towards the OpenAI report and the outlook on the AI trade, Bloomberg's Avril Hong spoke to Seema Shah, Principal Global Investors Chief Global Strategist.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks retreated for a second day and Treasuries edged lower as rising oil prices fueled concerns that inflation may stay elevated and nudge central banks to raise interest rates. MSCI's Asia Pacific equities index fell 0.9%, with nine of its 11 industry groups in the red. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Singapore declined, along with mainland China as trading resumed after a holiday. We speak to Bloomberg MLIV Strategist Mark Cranfield.

And -  Samsung Electronics Co. reported a nearly nine-fold rise in quarterly operating profit, though that was still just shy of sky-high expectations elevated by relentless spending on the AI infrastructure buildout. The world's largest memory chipmaker posted a record preliminary operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80.1 billion) for the quarter through September. But even those record results still fell short of the average analyst's forecast. Revenue came to 195 trillion won, also lower than expectations. Shares were flat during early morning trading in Seoul Thursday.  Bloomberg TV host Haidi Stroud-Watts spoke to Sanjeev Rana, CLSA Head of North Asia Semiconductors Research. 

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks failed to join a rally on Wall Street that took it to record highs on optimism over earnings outlook. Treasuries dropped as oil climbed. MSCI's Asia Pacific equities gauge fell 0.4%, with the regional benchmark now about 2% from its peak. Stocks dropped in Japan and South Korea, while they rose in Taiwan. The All Country World Index — a key barometer of global stocks — is about 0.5% away from its peak hit in August. Earlier, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 Index closed at record highs ahead of the US earnings season next week. Artificial intelligence-related stocks led the advance, with Nvidia Corp.'s market value approaching $6 trillion. Tech remained in focus as Elon Musk's SpaceX was in talks with banks and investors to raise $40 billion of debt to buy chips from Nvidia Corp., people familiar with the matter said. We speak to Lianting Tu, Bloomberg's Managing Editor for Asia Equities.

Former Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng told Bloomberg TV's Avril Hong Wednesday that Canada must protect its industries from "unjustified" U.S. tariffs before returning to the negotiating table. Speaking at the Milken Institute Asia Summit, Ng highlighted an aggressive pivot to diversify exports toward Asian markets. She pointed to accelerated energy and critical mineral exports, alongside ongoing trade talks with ASEAN and India aimed at doubling market access. Ng also noted an "encouraging" alignment with China to shield Canada's vital agrifood sector.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian shares rose after a tech-led rally sent the Nasdaq 100 Index to a record as equity investors shrugged off concerns about elevated oil prices and multi-decade high bond yields. Treasuries extended losses. MSCI's Asia Pacific equity index added 0.3%, with shares advancing in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. Earlier, Wall Street benchmarks climbed as gains in large-cap companies including Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. helped the S&P 500 Index close near an all-time high. US equity-index futures also edged up in Asian trading. We speak to Bloomberg MLIV Strategist David Savage.

Jim Chalmers, Australian Treasurer, says higher global bond yields will put pressure on the Australian budget as the widespread selloff pushes debt refinancing costs higher. He speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on Bloomberg: The Asia Trade.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks rose after softer US jobs data reduced pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates. Oil erased early gains, while bonds crept higher.

MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities index gained 1.1%, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallying 2.5% as technology shares advanced. Chip bellwether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. jumped 3% on a potential collaboration with Elon Musk’s Terafab. Tech sentiment remained buoyant, with Nasdaq 100 futures gaining 0.4% after the underlying gauge closed at a record high Friday.

Following Friday's economic data in the US, markets have repriced and the chance for a rate hike has decreased. For an outlook at a potential Fed rate hike, we heard from Qian Wang, Chief APAC Economist at Vanguard Group, and she spoke with Bloomberg's Paul Allen.

Speaking with foreign media for the first time since his appointment, Indonesian Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara signaled that his focus would be on managing the state budget and keeping its deficit within the legal limit of 3% of gross domestic product, and he spoke with Bloomberg's Haslinda Amin.

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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US – a look ahead to U.S Mortgage data, along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
• In the UK – a look ahead to this year’s Nobel Prize decisions.
• In Asia – a look ahead to China’s Golden Week Holiday.

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The US added fewer jobs than expected in September and wage growth slowed, signaling some caution among employers amid rising costs.  

Nonfarm payrolls increased 29,000 last month after a downward revision to the prior two months, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Friday. That missed all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. 

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, partly reflecting a growing workforce. 

Bloomberg’s Tom Keene and Paul Sweeney get reaction from: 

• Claudia Sahm, Chief Economist at New Century Advisors 
• Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations 
• Kristina Campmany, Senior Portfolio Manager at Invesco

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Under the shadow of Beijing's single-minded focus on artificial intelligence, China's consumer stocks are trapped in a lost decade. The industry is showing a stark contrast with the high-flying tech sector. MSCI China's consumer goods sub-indexes plunged roughly 18% over the past six months to near 10-year lows, while the AI-heavy technology gauge surged to more than double its 2016 level. During the latest earnings season, consumer staples firms in the MSCI gauge missed profit expectations by nearly 50%.  We speak to Winnie Hsu, Asia Equities Reporter.

Plus - Yukio Kani, Global CEO and Chair at Jera, discusses the company's partnership with Dell and UK-based AI infrastructure developer RHAELM on a $15 billion AI infrastructure project in Japan. He speaks with Shery Ahn on Bloomberg: The Asia Trade.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Confidence among Japan's largest firms remains elevated with sentiment among manufacturers rising to the highest level in more than eight years, a result that suggests the Bank of Japan can continue raising interest rates without buckling corporate optimism. The sentiment index climbed to 24 in September from 22, improving for a sixth straight quarter, the BOJ's quarterly Tankan business survey showed Thursday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had forecast a rise in the gauge to 25. The survey is one of the bank's most closely watched data sets. We speak to Bloomberg's FX and Rates Strategist David Finnerty.

And - Micron Technology Inc. gave an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, fueled by the AI building frenzy, though the chipmaker warned that rising compensation would weigh on profit margins. Revenue will be about $61.5 billion in the fiscal first quarter, which runs through November, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Analysts estimated $56.8 billion on average. Excluding some items, profit will be about $38.15 a share, compared with a projection of $36.02. Bloomberg's Shery Ahn spoke to Futurum Head of Semiconductors & Infrastructure Rolf Bulk.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks gained for the first time in three sessions and bonds steadied after a bruising selloff as traders awaited a crucial US inflation reading for clues on the path of interest rates. The dollar was set for its best month since June. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8%, led by technology shares after a key gauge of US semiconductor stocks advanced. SoftBank Group Corp., an investor in OpenAI, rose 6% after the artificial intelligence startup aimed to raise at least $30 billion in fresh funding at a $1.4 trillion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. We spoke to Lianting Tu, Bloomberg's Managing Editor for Asia Equities.

And - President Donald Trump shot down the idea of new federal regulations on artificial intelligence after meeting at the White House with top industry executives amid growing global concerns over threats posed by the technology. In lieu of new rules, Trump and the executives agreed on a framework where they would partner with outside auditors to conduct safety assessments of models and implement stronger internal controls over their systems, according to a copy of an accord signed by the president and Silicon Valley leaders following a White House lunch on AI risks Tuesday. The luncheon brought together nearly two dozen Silicon Valley leaders, including Anthropic PBC Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei and Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang. After the event, Trump said existing laws would be enough to safeguard Americans from AI's potential risks, despite a growing nationwide backlash to the technology. Bloomberg's Avril Hong spoke to Flint Global Partner Ewan Lusty. 

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