CNBC Daily Open: Buffeted by Middle East, propelled by China

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Geopolitical uncertainty  
Major U.S. indexes all closed slightly above the flatline on Wednesday. Oil prices continued rising, helping energy stocks outperform. Nike fell 6.8% and Tesla lost 3.5%. Asia-Pacific stocks traded mixed Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose about 2% as the yen slipped, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped around 1.4% after enjoying a strong rally on Wednesday.

Yen slides on Ishiba’s dovish comments 
The Japanese yen fell to as low as 147.15 against the U.S. dollar during Asia trading hours today on dovish comments from new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “I do not believe that we are in an environment that would require us to raise interest rates further,” Ishiba said Wednesday. Analysts, however, think the Bank of Japan will still raise rates by early 2025. 

OpenAI’s $157 billion valuation 
OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in its latest funding round, putting it at a valuation of $157 billion. The round was led by Thrive Capital – which planned to invest $1 billion – and included participation from Microsoft, Nvidia and Softbank, said a person with knowledge of the matter.  

Behind India’s booming market 
India Nifty 50 index is up 18.7% year to date, hitting record highs on its way there. Several factors are driving its rally: public infrastructure investments by the government, companies diversifying their supply chains away from China to India, healthy economic growth, a growing population and lower U.S. Federal Reserve interest rates.  

[PRO] Opportunities amid disruptions 
Strikes by longshoremen at U.S. coastal ports are only the latest in a series of supply chain disruptions we’ve experienced in recent years. While those interruptions are generally bad for the global economy by increasing shipment prices and delivery times, Goldman Sachs thinks some stocks can benefit from such events.

You’d expect that markets would have been shaken by that threat to the global economy. But all major U.S. indexes managed to close just a tad above the flatline. The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.09% gain and the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.08%. 

Headwinds blowing from Middle East might have been tempered by optimism in China.  

Lifted by Beijing’s recent announcement of economic stimulus, Chinese stocks have been on a tear. That’s caused U.S. exchange-traded funds that track Chinese stocks to rally, helping to keep the U.S. market afloat amid worries over the escalating Middle East conflict. 

Indeed, U.S. stocks tend to benefit whenever the Chinese government unleashes economic stimulus and credit expansion, according to Ryan Grabinski, strategist at Strategas Securities. 

Here’s the flipside of globalization: Negative developments in one part of the world may weigh down others, but positive ones will radiate optimism beyond their origin. 

– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Alex Harring and Samantha Subin contributed to this story.