Asia stocks slip as tech jitters grip markets ahead of Nvidia earnings

Asian markets opened the trading week on a cautious note, with technology shares leading the decline as investors braced for Nvidia's quarterly earnings. The chipmaker's results, due Wednesday, are expected to show revenue nearly doubling to around $92 billion, with full-year guidance projected between $103 billion and $105 billion.

"Those are really high expectations to be met," said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG. "Judging from Nvidia's track record, it won't be surprising if they meet the headline numbers, but the bigger question is whether concerns about circular deals powering its growth and the sustainability of that growth rate in coming quarters."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.9% and South Korea's Kospi slid 2.7%. Adding to the tech drag were Alibaba's $10.2 billion share sale at a steep discount to fund AI ambitions, and disappointment over Samsung Electronics' shareholder-return plan.

In the US, Nasdaq futures were off 0.08% while S&P 500 futures were flat. EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged 0.05% lower.

Oil prices extended losses after the Trump administration's warning to countries doing business with Iran, billed as an "economic D-Day," stopped short of imposing new penalties. Brent crude futures were down 0.1% to $92.08 a barrel, while US crude edged 0.1% higher to $85.09, after both fell more than 2% overnight.

"We do not expect China - Iran's largest trade partner - to bow to US pressure to cease commerce with Iran," said Joseph Capurso, a strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The US campaign against Iran puts at risk the trade truce between the US and China ahead of the leaders meeting next month."

The threat of being cut off from the dollar-based financial system stoked rumours that some countries and banks might need to buy dollars in anticipation, lending support to the greenback. The US dollar extended gains against its Canadian counterpart, last standing at C$1.3844 after a rise of more than 0.5% overnight.

US Treasury yields eased from recent highs following a report that the Treasury Department might tap into its cash account to finance increased debt buybacks, potentially reducing the need for additional short-term bill sales.

The euro strayed from a three-month high, last buying $1.1668, while sterling added 0.06% to $1.3638. Market participants now look to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech in Jackson Hole on Friday for clarity on the interest-rate outlook.

"Fiscal uncertainty is unlikely to fade soon," Standard Chartered analysts said. "There is scope, though, for the Warsh-led Fed to ease some monetary policy uncertainty by clarifying its reaction function - specifically, how long it is willing to keep rates on hold to see inflation return to its 2% target."

Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,675.51 an ounce.