Thursday Morning Coffee - Markets Update - 28 Aug 2025 - Asia Markets Stumble as Nvidia Retreats, Chinese Chipmakers Rally

The Trade Academy Team
Aug 28, 2025
2 min read

Markets Update: Asian equities swung sharply on Thursday as a post-earnings slide in Nvidia weighed on its regional suppliers, while Chinese chipmakers surged to multi-month highs.

Global Markets Roundup: 28 August 2025

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan slipped 0.4% after U.S. futures were dragged lower by a 3.1% after-hours drop in Nvidia shares. The chip giant, now the world’s most valuable company, delivered results that disappointed investors betting heavily on its China business.

Nvidia Misses, China Rivals Soar

Concerns centered on Nvidia’s China sales amid ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions. Goldman Sachs noted that the firm shipped no H20 products to China last quarter, while its $41.1 billion in data center revenues fell slightly short of the $41.3 billion analysts expected.

The chill spread across the region: Taiwan Semiconductor dropped 2.5% and Samsung Electronics slipped 1%. In sharp contrast, Chinese rivals skyrocketed—SMIC jumped as much as 9.3% and Cambricon Technologies rose 8.2%, lifting the STAR 50 Index by as much as 5%.

Japan, Korea, Hong Kong Diverge

Japanese stocks whipsawed before the Nikkei 225 settled 0.7% higher, supported by gains in Mitsubishi Corp after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake. A planned visit by Japan’s top trade negotiator to Washington was abruptly cancelled, according to Kyodo.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4% after the Bank of Korea kept its key rate at 2.5%, in line with forecasts.

Hong Kong fared worse: the Hang Seng Index fell 0.9%, dragged down by an 11.4% plunge in Meituan after the food delivery giant reported a profit slump.

Europe and U.S. Futures Soft

Early European trade was subdued. Pan-European futures were flat, Germany’s DAX futures edged 0.1% higher, and FTSE futures gained 0.1%. U.S. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1% and Nasdaq futures slid 0.3% following Nvidia’s sell-off.

The euro EURUSD held steady at $1.1642, capping a three-week rally that has lifted the currency 2% this month. Traders have scaled back fears over French borrowing costs despite deepening political turmoil in Paris.

Fed Politics, Rate Cut Bets

The dollar DXY stayed defensive as markets priced in an 88.7% chance of a September Fed rate cut, up from 61.9% a month ago, CME FedWatch data showed. Yields on 10-year Treasuries eased to 4.2227% from 4.238%.

The backdrop remains politically charged. President Donald Trump said this week he is firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook—who plans to sue the White House—raising renewed concerns over central bank independence. Trump has repeatedly pressed the Fed for steep rate cuts and threatened to dismiss Chair Jerome Powell, though he has recently softened that stance.

The dollar weakened 0.2% against the yen USDJPY to 147.135.

Commodities Mixed

Oil prices slipped, with Brent crude down 0.8% at $67.49 per barrel. Gold eased 0.2% to $3,391.60 an ounce.

Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.

General news - Information source from multiple newswires.

The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!

The Trade Academy Team