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By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian stock markets scored fresh highs on Thursday as investors doubled down on all things AI-related, while gold held atop $4,000 and the dollar retained its recent hefty gains. Oil prices dipped as geopolitical tensions eased a little on news that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire plan to end the two-year conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump said he might travel to Egypt this weekend to discuss further steps in the deal. In equity markets, a resumption of the bull run in AI-related tech saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reach record highs as funds were again rewarded for buying the dips. "The AI Theme remains intact as we see another stream of multi-$bn investment come into the space," wrote analysts at JPMorgan in a note. "Investors can talk all they want about the 'circularity' of this AI investment cycle, but these daily headlines are being rewarded with strength until proven otherwise." They noted estimates for earnings growth in the tech sector had risen to 20.9% for the looming reporting season, from 15.9% back in June. Some 81% of the stocks in the tech sector have seen estimates increase, led by Nvidia and Apple. Earnings overall are expected to grow 8% for the third quarter, with revenue up 6.3%. A jump in tech pushed Japan's Nikkei up 1.5% and back near all-time peaks. Data showed offshore funds bought a net 2.5 trillion yen ($16.40 billion) worth of Japanese shares in the week through October 4. Stocks in Taiwan climbed 1.2% to a fresh record, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.3%. Chinese blue chips added 0.4% as they reopened from a week-long holiday. Beijing reported consumers spent 809 billion yuan ($113.52 billion) during the holiday, while taking 888 million trips. Beijing also announced new restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals and equipment that have been a sticking point in trade talks with the United States. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures steadied after Wednesday's gains. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.2% while FTSE futures fell 0.5% and DAX futures 0.1%. FED STILL SEEN CUTTING Bond markets were largely unruffled by minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting that showed a majority of members cautioned about upside risks to inflation even as they sanctioned an easing in policy. Futures continue to imply a 94% chance of another quarter-point cut in November, and have 44 basis points of easing priced in by year-end. "While most Fed officials want to cut further, some participants want to approach further cuts with caution," economists at Citi wrote in a note. "We expect that further labour market weakening will push most Fed officials to support cutting the policy rate at each of the next four meetings." Yields on 10-year Treasuries were down a fraction at 4.115%, having also shrugged off a middling auction of new notes on Wednesday. In currencies, the dollar held near eight-month highs on the yen at 152.54, having surged 3.5% so far this week amid concerns about more Japanese government borrowing. The euro steadied at $1.1641, after touching a six-week low of $1.1598 overnight when data showed German industrial output suffered the biggest monthly fall in over three years in August. Investors were now waiting to see if French President Emmanuel Macron could name a new prime minister that would have any chance of hammering out a budget deal. Gold held at $4,037 an ounce, for a gain of 3.9% on the week so far. The metal has been buoyed by the prospect of a series of U.S. rate cuts, along with investor demand for assets that cannot be debased by governments and buying by central banks for reserves. There is also in part a desire to hedge against the risk of a sustained decline in the U.S. dollar and a selloff in bond markets as governments need to borrow ever more. [GOL/] Oil prices slipped as news of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire lessened one potential threat to supplies. [O/R] Brent dropped 0.6% to $65.89 a barrel, while U.S. crude eased 0.7% to $62.12 per barrel. ($1 = 152.4800 yen) (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sam Holmes)

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(Corrects to restore dropped word in brokerage name in penultimate paragraph) By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand's central bank slashed its benchmark rate by an aggressive 50 basis points on Wednesday, surprising some in the markets as policymakers signalled concerns about the frail state of the economy and kept the door open for further easing. The New Zealand dollar and interest rate swaps tumbled in the wake of the move that took the official cash rate to over a three-year low of 2.5%, as investors bet on more stimulus in the coming months to shore up demand and buffer the economy from rising global headwinds. “The Committee reached consensus to reduce the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent,” the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said in its accompanying policy statement. “The Committee remains open to further reductions in the OCR as required for inflation to settle sustainably near the 2% target mid-point in the medium term.” The dovish stance will be a welcome relief for the New Zealand government and the country’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, whose popularity has taken a sharp hit in recent months as the economic recovery he and his party campaigned on has failed to eventuate.   Luxon has said publicly he would like to see the cash rate lower to try and shake off the economic torpor, with business confidence worsening and households in a depressed mood as they fret about the rising cost of living and scarcity of jobs. The Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll released earlier Wednesday found that the current government would not have enough seats to govern if an election was held today.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the rate cut is good news for growth, jobs and investment, adding: "We know many New Zealanders are still doing it tough."  The RBNZ decision went against 15 of 26 economists surveyed in a Reuters poll who had forecast it would cut the cash rate by 25 basis points.  However, the larger cut wasn't totally unexpected as the remaining 11 economists had picked a 50-bp reduction and markets were primed for the RBNZ to pull harder on its monetary policy levers to inject impetus to a weakened economy. The New Zealand dollar tumbled to six-month lows, losing 0.90% to $0.5745, while two-year interest rate swaps fell to 2.5251% from 2.6194% before the decision. The market is now fully pricing in a further 25-basis-point cut to 2.25%, and is ascribing a 60% chance of a 2.00% terminal cash rate.   “The RBNZ’s decision signals that the likelihood of inflation pressures being weaker than previously anticipated carried more weight than waiting to see how quickly the economy rebounds and what ripple effects come from the current spike in inflation,” ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said in a note. The central bank has cut rates by 300 basis points since August 2024, and with inflation within its target band of 1% to 3%, policymakers have leeway to lower borrowing costs further. TRUMP POLICIES ADD TO ECONOMIC WOES  Wednesday's policy review is Christian Hawkesby’s second-to-last meeting as RBNZ Governor, after the government last month appointed Swedish policymaker Anna Breman to the role starting December 1.     A global front-runner in withdrawing pandemic-era stimulus, the RBNZ lifted rates 525 basis points between October 2021 and September 2023 to curb inflation in the most aggressive tightening since the cash rate was introduced in 1999. The punishing borrowing costs, however, slammed the brakes on demand and tipped the economy into recession last year. Since then it has struggled to motor on, contracting by 0.9% in the second quarter in a shock result that fuelled bets of steeper rate cuts.   While trading partner growth has been resilient, it is expected to slow in part due to U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the government’s tight fiscal policy, hurting business confidence and pushing up unemployment. One challenge for the central bank is that inflation is expected to reach 3.0% in the third quarter.  However, in its statement on Wednesday, the RBNZ said spare capacity in the economy should see inflation return to near its mid-point in 2026. New Zealand is one of several countries to ease rates as inflation has moved lower, but its sharp reductions to borrowing costs contrast with a more cautious approach by the U.S. Federal Reserve and its counterpart in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia held the cash rate steady last week as it flagged inflation concerns. And last month, the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut for the year. Zoe Wallis, investment strategist at brokerage Forsyth Barr, is retaining her terminal rate forecast at 2.25% for now. However, she said "there is a chance that further easing beyond that level could be on the cards if inflation proves well contained and the economy fails to fire up convincingly in coming months." (Reporting by Lucy CraymerEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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