The Japan Times - US stocks fall again while Alibaba gains on big AI push

Major US indices pulled back further from Monday's record closes following comments Tuesday from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell that US stocks are "fairly highly valued."

"We've given up some ground today," said FHN Financial's Chris Low. "It really does look mostly."

Briefing.com described Wednesday's trading as a shift from the bargain-hunting impulse that has surfaced after other recent dips. But Wednesday's losses were "modest in the scope of recent gains," Briefing said in its note.

Following a mixed day on European stock markets, the broad-based S&P 500 finished down 0.3 percent.

Trade Nation analyst David Morrison characterized Tuesday's selloff as shallow.

"The general feeling is... that any pullback is a buying opportunity," he said.

A key driver of the rally has been expectations that the Fed will continue to cut US interest rates before the end of the year.

Investors are awaiting the release on Friday of the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, the Fed's favored gauge of US inflation, and key American jobs figures next week.

Crude oil prices rallied for a second day after European officials followed through on US President Donald Trump's call in Tuesday's United Nation's adress to end energy imports from Russia.

The EU has already cut around 90 percent of its oil imports from Russia since Moscow's 2022 invasion, and has announced a plan to phase out the remaining purchases by the end of 2027.

EU countries Hungary and Slovakia -- both allies of Trump -- still import Russian oil via pipeline, and are opposed to any moves to turn off the taps faster.

"We will, in due course, present what we have in mind on this," EU spokesman Olof Gill said Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu's unveiling of plans to ramp up AI spending by about $53 billion provided a positive catalyst for tech stocks as well as the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets.

Alibaba shares surged more than eight percent.

"The industry's development speed far exceeded what we expected, and the industry's demand for AI infrastructure also far exceeded our anticipation," Wu told an audience at the firm's annual developer conference in Hangzhou, China.

The Argentine peso rose sharply on Wednesday after Washington said it is in talks with Argentina for a swap line allowing the country access to billions of dollars.

- Key figures at around 2050 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN less than 0.4 percent at 46,121.28 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,637.97 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 22,497.86 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,250.43 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,827.45 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 23,666.81 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 45,630.31 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 26,518.65 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,853.64 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1737 from $1.1815 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3445 from $1.3526

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.91 yen from 147.64 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.29 pence from 87.35 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 percent at $69.31 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 percent at $64.99 per barrel

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Y.Watanabe--JT