NEW YORK—Asian technology stocks led market gains Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping 2 percent to 66,890.02, as traders positioned ahead of U.S. Consumer Price Index data that will shape Federal Reserve rate policy for months ahead.
CoreWeave Inc. shares surged after the company raised its earnings forecast, lifting AI-linked equities broadly and reinforcing demand for technology exposure even as duration risk mounts.
Crude oil extended gains for a third consecutive session, with traders weighing Middle East cease-fire prospects against the absence of any confirmed agreement. No deal has been finalized, and uncertainty over the conflict's trajectory kept a floor under prices.
Gold pulled back from a two-month high as investors trimmed positions ahead of the inflation report, a standard pre-data risk reduction in the precious metals market.
The bond market is the one to watch. A hotter-than-expected CPI print would reinforce the case for rates staying higher longer, adding pressure to the long end of the curve and compressing any remaining spread between front-end policy expectations and 10-year yields. Futures markets are already pricing a significant probability of a Federal Reserve pause at the next meeting; a beat on inflation would push that probability sharply higher and reopen the debate over whether the next move is a cut at all.
