Major Asian markets closed the penultimate session of the week divided between gains and losses on Thursday, in a day marked by sharp volatility that saw South Korea’s Kospi surge nearly 2% before retreating by a similar magnitude. Fears of an artificial intelligence bubble remain alive, with results from US chipmaker Broadcom — a key Nvidia rival — further unsettling investors.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index — the benchmark for regional trading — climbed as much as 1.2% during the session before erasing almost all of those gains. The index ultimately managed a slight recovery to close the day up 0.56%.
In Europe, futures trading pointed to a marginally higher open, with the Euro Stoxx 50 indicated to gain just 0.07%. In the United States, similarly contained optimism was expected to define the session, with S&P 500 futures pointing to a subdued trading day with limited directional movement.
“There are several unresolved issues, several unresolved conflicts and, more importantly, there is no clear timeline for resolution on any front,” wrote Natalia Lojevsky, Chief Executive Officer of CIFC Asset Management, in a note seen by Bloomberg. “Investors need to be careful when deciding to enter the market,” she said, adding that “at some point, higher yields become a painful experience for equities.”
Investor attention is now turning to US employment data due on Friday, after August’s labour market report pointed to a cooling jobs market — a development that modestly reduced the probability of the Federal Reserve proceeding with an interest rate increase, given the central bank’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.
On a market-by-market basis, China’s Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices diverged, with the former falling 0.29% and the latter gaining 0.14%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix followed a similar split — the blue-chip index edged down 0.11% while the broader gauge rose 0.58%. South Korea’s Kospi, after enduring the session’s most pronounced volatility, managed to close up 0.29% following a late-session rally.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/03/mercados/mercados-mercados/volatilidade-atinge-asia-e-deixa-pracas-sem-rumo-europa-aponta-para-ganhos-contidos/
