Asian stocks edged lower from record levels after a decline in Wall Street benchmarks, as sentiment was weighed down by a muted reaction to Nvidia Corp.’s earnings.

Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi indexes both slipped at the open, keeping the MSCI Asia Pacific Index little changed in early Friday trading. Even so, the gauge has gained more than 6% in February — set for a third consecutive monthly advance — and widen its outperformance over US and European benchmarks this year.

Futures contracts for US benchmarks also retreated in early Asian trading after the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2% on Wednesday. Nvidia slumped 5.5%, its worst day since April last year, weighing on the Magnificent Seven group of mega-caps.

The moves were a further sign of the market’s vulnerability to AI headlines, as investors, businesses, governments and central banks all attempt to understand the long-term impacts of the quickly advancing technology. By contrast, Asian equities have outperformed as investors pile into companies supplying the AI build-out, viewing the region’s firms as the “picks and shovels” of the AI supply chain.

The sober response to Nvidia’s results, which included beats on revenue, net income and guidance, was partly because investors now expect such outperformance, according to Hardika Singh at Fundstrat Global Advisors.

“But where it did miss was easing investors’ concerns about its narrowing moat in the evolving world of compute and explaining its gameplan for how it’ll fare in a world of AI disruption that could upend all kinds of businesses from cybersecurity to food delivery to banks,” she said.
Elsewhere, Treasuries held their gains with the yield on the 10-year hovering around 4%. At one point during the US session, it touched its lowest this year. Australia’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.65% early Friday. The dollar wavered.West Texas Intermediate crude largely held its losses to trade around $65.25 a barrel. The US and Iran will continue nuclear talks next week after making “significant progress” in Switzerland, mediator Oman said.

Meanwhile, AI headlines continued to hit the market even after the closing bell in New York.

Shares in Jack Dorsey’s payments giant Block Inc. surged more than 20% in after-market trading following news the company would cut nearly half its workforce — some 4,000 roles — in a pivot to AI. Dell Technologies Inc. shares also jumped in extended trading after a better-than-expected outlook for sales of artificial intelligence servers.

Amid the turmoil, Asian and other emerging markets have been a bright spot for traders. Asian stocks have made their beset start versus the US this century.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has advanced in February, taking the year-to-date gains to 15%. In comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 0.9% this year, while the Nasdaq 100 Index has fallen by the same amount.

Global asset managers who collectively oversee more than $20 trillion of assets have grown more bullish across emerging-market equities, currencies, domestic bonds and credit, potentially offering fresh momentum to the sector’s record-busting rally.

Citigroup Inc., which reviewed the published outlooks of some of the world’s biggest asset managers, found that funds had added to long positions in markets across Asia, Latin America, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The findings came as MSCI’s main emerging equity index trades close to record highs.

In Japan, Tokyo’s core inflation gauge eased to the slowest pace in more than a year as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s utility subsidies curbed household energy costs. The yen was a touch stronger Friday.

Businesses are rapidly growing their branded product lines in an attempt to meet changing consumer behaviour. Private labels now account for over 54.7% of sales made at grocery stores.

Retailer-owned products not being seen as a cheap alternative anymore, but instead, a way to convey luxury and exclusivity.

Price-Led Positioning is No Longer Dominating UK Supermarkets

Small UK businesses are aggressively growing

, with price-led positioning becoming a dated trend. It’s becoming evident that brands are no longer using their own branded products as a way to be a cheap alternative. Instead, supermarkets are now investing in more premium or luxury ranges, in an attempt to target different consumer demographics. Tesco’s Finest range is an example here, but at the same time, Sainsbury’s has also expanded their Taste the Difference range quite significantly.

Aldi and Lidl also have their own branded product lines. Supermarkets are relying more and more on consumer loyalty to support them through bigger operating costs. Consumers are more willing to try alternative supermarkets, and brands are trying to compete by offering exclusive products that can’t be found elsewhere.

Brands are Exploring Own-Branded Products outside the Grocery Sector

It’s not just the supermarket sector that is exploring brand-name products. Even outside the grocery sector, we are seeing brands launch their own lines as a way to control pricing, as well as packaging and sustainability goals. Boots, for example, have their own brand, Soap & Glory. We are also seeing a shift in entertainment.

Netflix is dominating with Netflix Originals, which reduces its reliance on licensing content for set periods of time. Spotify also has Spotify-exclusive podcasts as a way to differentiate itself from the competition. We are also seeing this trend in the iGaming sector. Visiting an online live casino UK site often means discovering a range of exclusive titles like The Sun Live Roulette that reflect the site’s identity. This allows brands to tweak the rules or offer new gameplay experiences for games like blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. At the same time, it also dials in on exclusivity, as brands can protect their content while appealing directly to their target audience.

Even though we are seeing big trends right now, it’s more of a structural change that is changing how businesses compete with each other. Supermarkets might be providing premium-level ready meals, but at the same time, the beauty sector is also building global cosmetic brands. This not only reduces the store’s reliance on vendors but also opens up the door to new and creative marketing opportunities.

For small businesses across the UK, brands can no longer get by with offering a standard range of products. If this approach is adopted, it’s simply a race to the bottom to see who can offer the lowest prices. By offering exclusivity, it becomes possible to offer a product nobody else does, and in instances like this, it becomes easier to set price points that cannot be compared or competed with. Brands are finally taking control of an unpredictable market, and consumers stand to benefit significantly.

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked mutual funds to use domestic stock exchange spot prices to value physical gold and silver held by exchange-traded funds.

The new rule will come into effect from April 1, 2026.

At present, fund houses use London Bullion Market Association prices to value physical gold and silver held by mutual fund schemes.

“…it was deliberated that polled spot prices published by recognised stock exchanges may be used for the valuation of gold and silver held by mutual fund schemes. As stock exchanges are subject to transparency and compliance requirements under the regulatory framework, using the spot price published by such regulated entities shall lead to a valuation reflective of domestic market conditions and also ensure uniformity in the valuation practices,” Sebi said in a circular on Thursday.

NVIDIA Corp. shares edged higher in pre-market trading Thursday after the AI chip leader reported blockbuster fiscal fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations, though investor enthusiasm remained tempered amid ongoing questions about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) closed at $195.56 on Wednesday, up $2.71 or 1.41%, with after-hours and pre-market activity pushing it toward $197. Pre-market quotes showed gains of around 0.7% to 1% as of early Thursday. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $86.62 to $212.19, reflecting volatility tied to AI hype and periodic pullbacks.

The company’s fiscal fourth quarter, ended Jan. 25, 2026, delivered record revenue of $68.1 billion, a 73% surge from the same period a year earlier and a 20% increase sequentially. Analysts had anticipated around $66 billion, according to consensus estimates from LSEG and other sources. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.62, beating expectations of $1.53.

Data Center revenue, the powerhouse segment fueled by demand for GPUs in AI training and inference, reached a record $62.3 billion — up 75% year over year and 22% from the prior quarter. The segment accounted for the vast majority of total sales, underscoring NVIDIA’s dominance in the AI infrastructure market.

For the full fiscal 2026 year, NVIDIA posted revenue of $215.9 billion, a 65% jump from the previous year. GAAP net income for the year hit $120.1 billion, with diluted EPS of $4.90.

CEO Jensen Huang highlighted accelerating adoption of AI technologies, including agentic systems and reasoning models. In prepared remarks, he noted that “compute and revenues are equated” as customers race to build out AI capabilities. Huang emphasized broadening ecosystems and “skyrocketing” demand for advanced AI agents.

The company issued optimistic guidance for the current quarter (fiscal first quarter 2027), projecting revenue of $78 billion, plus or minus 2%. That figure comfortably exceeded analyst models, which had hovered around $66 billion to $72 billion in some forecasts. Gross margins remained robust, with non-GAAP at 75.2%.

Despite the beats on both top and bottom lines, and the raised outlook, NVIDIA shares showed only modest movement in extended trading. Analysts pointed to a “show-me-more” sentiment among investors accustomed to outsized beats in recent quarters. Concerns linger over potential competition from rivals like AMD and Intel, customer concentration risks — particularly with major cloud providers — and questions about whether AI capital spending will moderate after years of explosive growth.

Some market watchers described the reaction as muted, with the stock failing to rally sharply despite the strong numbers. One CNBC report noted that “investor concerns around the AI infrastructure boom dampened enthusiasm” for the results.

NVIDIA’s trajectory has made it one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market capitalization approaching or exceeding $4.8 trillion in recent sessions. The stock has more than doubled in value over the past year in some periods, though it has pulled back from October 2025 highs amid broader tech sector rotation and valuation debates.

The earnings release comes as Big Tech continues pouring billions into AI data centers. NVIDIA’s GPUs remain the go-to hardware for training large language models and running inference at scale. Supply chain commitments rose significantly, with the company noting strategic inventory secures to meet demand “beyond the next several quarters.”

Huang and CFO Colette Kress addressed ecosystem expansion during the earnings call, pointing to partnerships and software advancements that extend beyond raw chip sales. They also touched on limited H200 shipments to China amid export restrictions, though no meaningful revenue impact was reported yet.

Wall Street remains broadly bullish on NVIDIA’s long-term prospects, with many analysts maintaining buy ratings and high price targets. However, the bar is extraordinarily high after multiple quarters of dramatic outperformance.

As AI adoption spreads from hyperscalers to enterprises and edge applications, NVIDIA is positioning itself at the center. Whether the current quarter’s $78 billion forecast materializes will be a key test of whether the AI spending cycle has further legs.

Mumbai: Motilal Oswal Alternates, the alternative investment arm of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, announced the first close of its maiden private credit fund, at ₹1,700 crore. The fund-India Credit Excellence Fund-I-launched in January, is targeting a total corpus of ₹3,000 crore including a green shoe option.

The fund will focus on secured lending and bespoke customised solutions targeting mid-market businesses that are profitable, growing and fundamentally creditworthy, yet unable to access capital at the right tenor and structure from banks or capital markets, it said.

“The platform’s entry into this asset class is a natural extension of its existing capabilities. Our strategy spans senior secured lending across growth capital and dislocated credit situations, with the ability to opportunistically participate in equity upside,” said Rakshat Kapoor, head and chief investment officer, private credit, Motilal Oswal Alternates. The company estimates the addressable private credit market would surpass ₹10 lakh crore over the next few years, he said.

Netflix dropped its bid to buy Warner Bros. after the studio announced Paramount’s latest bid to buy the entire company was “superior.”

“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. 

They continued, “Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process. We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said “we are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”

PARAMOUNT REFUSES TO BACK DOWN IN WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY TAKEOVER FIGHT AGAINST NETFLIX

Earlier in the day, Warner Bros. Discovery said Paramount’s latest offer was “superior.”

“Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors, following consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, has determined that the previously disclosed proposal from Paramount Skydance Corporation constitutes a ‘Company Superior Proposal’ as defined in WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix, Inc.” the company said in a press release.

Paramount’s revised offer raises WBD’s value to $31.00 per share, putting the company’s evaluation at $111 billion. Paramount would additionally pay the $2.8 billion termination fee that would go to Netflix if WBD backs out of their deal.

“We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement.

Ellison’s billionaire father Larry Ellison is personally backing Paramount’s bid committing $45.7 billion in equity through the Ellison Trust while Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and Apollo will provide a $57.5 billion debt commitment.

NETFLIX CO-CEO ACCUSES JAMES CAMERON OF SPREADING ‘MISINFORMATION’ ABOUT WARNER BROS. ACQUISITION 

In December, Warner Bros. announced it had reached a deal with Netflix to buy the Hollywood studio and HBO for $83 billion, prompting Paramount to launch a $108 billion hostile takeover bid for the entire company, including all of its cable assets like CNN, which would have been spun off into a separate company under the Netflix deal.

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Both the Paramount and Netflix bids for Warner Bros. had sparked panic across the entertainment industry. 

Critics of the Paramount bid fear putting two legacy studios under one company would lead to mass layoffs and worry about Ellison taking over CNN, while critics of Netflix are concerned about the streaming giant’s growing influence and whether it will commit to theatrical windows for film releases in support of movie theaters.

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