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Wall Street futures hold steady after tech-fuelled rally

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Powell in focus

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European, Asian shares gain

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Gold hits a fresh high above $3,781 an ounce

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Chip optimism underpins tech stocks

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Euro zone bonds steady after PMIs

(Updates to reflect prices in early afternoon European trading)

By Canan Sevgili and Tom Wilson

LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Global shares rose on

Tuesday as AI optimism boosted tech stocks, while expectations

of U.S. interest rate cuts pushed gold to record highs and

investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks

shares in 49 countries, edged up 0.1%, driven by advances in

Europe and Asia.

Wall Street shares were set to hold on to gains after a

tech-driven rally pushed indexes to record closing highs on

Monday, for the third straight session.

Powell's comments, due later in the day, could play a key

role in shaping interest rate expectations at a time when

investors are weighing mixed signals from the Fed, with some

officials advocating gradual cuts to keep inflation in check.

U.S. stock index futures were steady, with S&P 500 E-minis

mostly unchanged and Nasdaq 100 E-minis making

small gains of 0.3%.

On Monday, Nvidia announced it would invest up to

$100 billion in OpenAI, with the first data centre gear to be

delivered in the second half of 2026. The stock hit a record

high, its gains underscoring its wider importance.

"It may not be an exaggeration to write that NVIDIA - the

key supplier of capital goods for the AI investment cycle - is

currently carrying the weight of U.S. economic growth," said

George Saravelos, global head of FX research at Deutsche Bank.

Gold hit a record above $3,784 per ounce, and was

nearly 10% higher for the month so far.

Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone, noted

that investors were hedging their exposure to stocks by buying

gold.

Euro zone bond yields, meanwhile, were little changed after

the release of mixed business activity data from the bloc and

heavy government bond issuance. Germany's 10-year yield

, the euro zone benchmark, was little changed after

the data at 2.745%, just below a two-week high of 2.762% reached

on Monday.

MIXED MESSAGING FROM FED, DOLLAR CONTINUES TO SEESAW

The EURO STOXX 600, which has tended to lag in the

rush to tech stocks, gained 0.5%, powered by utilities shares.

German and French indexes climbed 0.3% and 0.7%

respectively.

Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares

outside Japan closed up 0.1%, and was 5.5%

higher for the month so far. South Korean stocks closed

up 0.51%, while Chinese blue chips remained steady.

Global equities have been supported by expectations of

further Fed rate cuts after it eased policy last week.

Futures suggest that there is around a 90% chance of a 0.25%

U.S. rate cut in October and a 75% probability in December.

Markets remain dovish despite mixed messaging from the Fed

itself. New Fed Governor Stephen Miran called for sharp rate

cuts on Monday, while three colleagues urged caution on

inflation.

In currencies, the dollar continued its recent seesaw

pattern, easing overnight after three sessions of gains.

The euro was steady at $1.179, after bouncing from

a $1.1726 low on Monday, while the dollar had faded to 147.72

yen from a high around 148.37.

Sweden's crown gained 0.4% to 9.31 per dollar after

the central bank cut interest rates to 1.75% and said rates were

expected to remain on hold for some time.

Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, even as investors

weighed the global supply outlook after Iraq and Kurdish

regional governments reached a preliminary agreement to restart

an oil pipeline.

Brent crude gained 0.9% to $67.16 a barrel, while

U.S. crude added 0.7% to $62.99 per barrel.