Global shares rose on Wednesday as a cooling of tensions between Russia and the West injected some confidence among investors ahead of earnings from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), while bitcoin hit a new record high and the dollar edged up.
Safe-haven assets such as gold and government bonds got a lift on Tuesday after news of Ukraine launching U.S.-made long-range missiles into Russia and Russia announcing it had lowered the threshold for nuclear action.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later downplayed the nuclear threat, which helped restore a sense of calm across markets and left investors to focus on more immediate events.
The MSCI All-World index, which ended the day up 0.4% on Tuesday, was flat on Wednesday, while European shares rallied 0.4% and U.S. stock index futures rose 0.2%.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, reports third-quarter results after the bell. Shares were up just 0.3% in pre-market trading, but traders are preparing for possible volatility. The options market implies a move of almost 9% either direction in the $3.6 trillion stock, which serves as a kind of barometer for the tech sector's shift to AI.
"(Nvidia) was naturally the key topic on everyone's mind. Big-picture, a nice beat seems widely anticipated," said Joshua Meyers, executive director at JPMorgan, in a note to clients.
"FY26 expectations have become quite ebullient, a worry that comes up increasingly in conversations," Meyers said, adding that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's commentary on the earnings call would be particularly important to "level-set expectations (or not)."
Meanwhile, bitcoin, which hit an overnight record high above $94,000, was up 1.3% at $93,450. The price has risen by well over 30% since the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election on the back of expectations that winner Donald Trump will create a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment.
Investors are also watching Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, which may come as soon as Wednesday.
STRONG DOLLAR
The dollar rose 0.3% to 106.5, pulling above one-week lows. It has gained nearly 3% since the election, as investors have bought into the idea that Trump's policies on taxes, trade and immigration will drive up both growth and inflation.
"The reality is that market forces are likely to temper some of the policy ambition," Guy Miller, chief market strategist at Zurich Insurance Group (OTC:ZFSVF), said.
"A key reason Trump was elected was because people were unhappy with inflation. And so Trump will be aware of that and that's why the markets think there will be a moderation in his policies. He doesn't want inflation to pick up," he said.
Investors took some profit on U.S. Treasuries after Tuesday's safe-haven rally, pushing yields up. The 10-year note was last up 4.5 basis points to yield 4.437%, just shy of five-month highs, which in turn lent some support to the dollar.
Currencies such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, which also rallied on Tuesday, came under pressure. The dollar was last up 0.7% against the yen at 155.78. Against the franc , the dollar was up 0.3% at 0.8851 francs.
The Chinese yuan weakened after the central bank held benchmark lending rates steady as widely expected, allowing Chinese mainland stocks to rally 0.2%, as did Hong Kong's Hang Seng index.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending overnight gains. Brent crude was up 0.76% at $73.87 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up 0.9% at $70.02.
Gold, a classic safe-haven asset, eased to 42,623 an ounce, down 0.3% on the day.
