Most Asian stocks rose along with U.S. and European futures Thursday following a Wall Street rally spurred by speculation that Federal Reserve policy tightening will help fight inflation without derailing growth.
Japan led gains but Chinese technology shares were under pressure again in part on worries about U.S. sanctions amid tension between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. central bank said it will double the pace at which it tapers bond purchases to $30 billion a month and projected three quarter-point interest-rate increases in 2022, another three in 2023 and two more in 2024. It also flagged economic risks from the omicron virus strain.
“If there is a story here, it’s that the Fed is moving forward but they are not going to do anything rash to kill this market move forward that we’ve had over the last year,” Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG, said on Bloomberg Television. “They are not looking to disrupt the kind of environment that we’ve had and that’s good news for markets. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that restraining inflation is now the key to sustaining economic expansion. But that’s no easy task, since further disruptions to everyday life from omicron could exacerbate supply chain and labor snarls, pushing up costs.
On the virus front, omicron continues its global spread. A European official said the variant will likely be the dominant strain there by mid-January. Apple Inc. is delaying its return to the office indefinitely as infections rise. Cases in the U.S. have jumped 60% since late October to an average of about 120,000 a day.
US After Hours LEN -4.5% falls on earnings; CALT +56.9% jump on FDA approval; GOEV +4.7% rises on news it will accelerate EV production
Nikkei +2.13% Hang Seng -0.31% CSI +0.46% Shanghai +0.65% Shenzen +0.53%
Eur$ 1.1288 CNH 6.3736 CNY 6.3661 JPY 114.17 GBP 1.3247 CHF 0.9249 RUB 73.7278 TRY 15.0517 WTI$ 71.71 +1.02% Gold 1,784.25 +0.35% BTC 48,800 -390 ETH 4,010 -50
S&P +0.39% Nasdaq +0.55% EuroStoxx +1.67% FTSE +1.11% Dax +1.32% SMI +1.06%
Macro :
- Powell Declares Inflation Big Threat as Fed Signals Rate Hikes
- Omicron Shield Rises on Two Pfizer Shots and Prior Infection
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