The Japan Times - Amazon surges as US stocks shrug off bond yield worries

Shares of Amazon surged 15.3 percent as the tech giant posted more than $62 billion in quarterly profits behind a 20 percent revenue increase in results that blew past analyst expectations.

Amazon's surge added to confidence about artificial intelligence investments amid questions about the payoff, a day after Microsoft also wowed investors with strong results.

"The earnings picture continues to surprise very much to the upside, especially with Amazon's results, and so I think investors are ignoring the prospect of higher interest rates down the road," said CFRA Research's Sam Stovall.

All three major indices finished solidly higher, led by the tech-rich Nasdaq, which gained 1.0 percent.

That came despite a 7.4-percent fall in Apple due to disappointment over the company's outlook.

Markets continued to keep an eye on US Treasury yields, which remained elevated amid concerns that persistent inflation will compel the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates.

Investors have been monitoring the bond market since a divided Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.

The three dissenting policy makers from Wednesday's Fed meeting said Friday that rate hikes were needed immediately to avoid entrenched inflation.

"Inflation has been too high for too long," said Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack. "The longer that high inflation persists, the more challenging and costly it can be to bring it back down."

Asian markets rallied earlier Friday, led by a record surge of almost 18 percent for Seoul as technology firms performed a blistering recovery from an extended sell-off.

Seoul's Kospi had been at the forefront of the sell-off after hitting a record high a month ago, with chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung the poster children of the rout, losing around half their value in the panic.

"The rebound in tech powered by Microsoft's extremely well-received numbers has helped lift the broader market mood, helping investors to put concerns about the Iran conflict and its continuing impact on ice for now," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Analysts have noted that heavy selling in recent weeks was focused on concerns about when the huge sums invested in artificial intelligence would see returns, rather than fundamental problems in the sector.

Seoul's eye-watering rally was also helped by news that South Korea's government planned to pump almost $14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund for AI investments and data centers.

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix surged 30 percent -- wiping out its losses from the previous two days.

Elsewhere Friday, the yen held gains against the dollar, a day after rallying amid speculation that Japanese authorities intervened to prop up the currency, which had been sitting around 40-year lows.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, whose major constituents do not feature technology companies, hit another record high as it came close to reaching 11,000 points for the first time.

However it later pulled back and ended the day lower.

- Key figures around 2020 GMT -

New York - DOW: UP 0.5 percent at 52,485.03 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 7,489.72 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 25,373.85 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,868.05 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,509.64 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP less than 0.1 percent at 25,629.24 (close)

Seoul - Kospi: UP 17.9 percent at 6,595.45 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 4.0 percent at 64,362.02 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,884.43 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,832.26 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.11 yen from 159.53 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1530 from $1.1528

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3480 from $1.3466

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.53 pence at 85.60 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $90.12 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $84.67 per barrel

T.Sasaki--JT