Investing.com - The Australian Stock Exchange was trading 0.7% higher after the first 20 minutes of Friday's session, inspired by an upbeat mood on Wall Street, Europe, and Japan.
This surge in positivity comes in the wake of NVIDIA Corporation's (NASDAQ:NVDA) robust quarterly results and outlook, which surpassed expectations, leading the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to close at all-time highs.
Nvidia's market capitalization soared by $277 billion, the largest single-session increase ever recorded by any company, easily outpacing Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) $196.8 billion gain earlier in the month. Nvidia's market value has seen an impressive rise of more than $700 billion in 2024 alone.
The S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ Composite all posted significant gains, with ASX futures rising 32 points or 0.4% to 7603 close to 8 am AEDT. Several companies, including Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKb), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), reached 52-week highs.
Analysts were quick to laud Nvidia and raise their price targets. Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) revised its target up from $US800 to $US925, while HSBC increased its target from $US835 to $US880. At least seven Wall Street analysts predict the stock to reach at least $US900, with KeyBanc setting its sights at $US1100.
Nvidia's results not only propelled Japanese equities to their highest level in more than three decades but also boosted European stocks, igniting a widespread global rally. The Nikkei 225 in Japan and Taiwan's benchmark both achieved record highs, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC 40 all made significant gains.
However, some analysts believe that Nvidia's stock may be nearing its peak or has simply risen too rapidly. JPMorgan reportedly set a target price of $US795, Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) at $US720, and DA Davidson at $US620. UBS reportedly reduced its target from $US850 to $US800.
On the ASX, companies including AMA Group Ltd (ASX:AMA), Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM), Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX:ABB), Bapcor Ltd (ASX:BAP), Brambles Ltd (ASX:BXB), Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX:JIN), Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:LFS), Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX:MVF), PEXA Group Ltd (ASX:PXA), Sandfire Resources NL (ASX:SFR), and Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX:YAL) are scheduled to report results today. In other news, Newmont (ASX:NEM), the world's leading gold producer, is planning to sell six mines and two projects in a bid to generate $3.1 billion in cash.
The Australian dollar saw a slight increase, while Bitcoin rose by 0.6% while commodities such as gold, Brent crude, and iron ore experienced minor changes.