British News Agency

According to analysts, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 0.62 percent higher, while Germany’s Dax is seen up 0.81 percent and France’s CAC 40 is forecast to gain around 0.69 percent.

Nvidia released its third-quarter results after the close on Tuesday, beating revenue estimates and fourth-quarter sales expectations. The chipmaker said its revenue jumped 62 percent year-on-year to 57.01 billion dollars and that it expects 65 billion dollars in revenue in the fourth quarter.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in his earnings statement to investors, “There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our perspective, we see something very different.”

In Asia, shares of chipmakers rose in early Thursday trading, with Samsung Electronics and Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, lifting regional indices. As Nvidia’s results gave fresh momentum to the broader market, U.S. stock futures also moved higher on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, investors will be closely watching defense-related stocks after the European Aerospace and Defense Index fell to a two-month low on Wednesday and closed the day down by around 1.9 percent. These moves came as senior U.S. officials from the Pentagon arrived in Ukraine late on Wednesday to work on a peace plan.

With earnings season cooling, it is likely to be a quieter day for Europe. However, investors may keep an eye on Walmart, which is expected to report its results before U.S. markets open. Europe’s statistics office Eurostat will publish the breakdown of GDP and employment by sector for 2024.

Data released on Wednesday showed that the U.K.’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.6 percent in October, increasing the likelihood that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in December. The development comes a week before the government’s high-risk Autumn Budget. Sterling was little changed against the U.S. dollar overnight.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 2.63 percent, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.75 percent. Investor optimism spread to South Korea, with memory chip heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics climbing more than 6 percent and 3.3 percent respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index added 1 percent.

Taiwan’s Taiex index climbed 2.6 percent. Shares of TSMC, Nvidia’s chip manufacturer in the index, gained more than 4 percent, while Hon Hai Precision Industry, known as Foxconn and a supplier to Nvidia, rose 2.84 percent. In India, the Nifty 50 index opened about 0.18 percent higher, and the Sensex index was up around 0.19 percent.

On U.S. markets, the S&P 500 rose 0.38 percent to close at 6.642,16 points, ending a four-day losing streak, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.59 percent to finish at 22.564,23 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 47 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 46.138,77 points.