Asian stocks advanced following a rally on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve signaled it still sees room to cut interest rates later this year because any increase in inflation due to tariffs will be brief. MSCI’s regional stock benchmark climbed to its highest since early November as equities in Taiwan, Australia and South Korea all rallied. US equity futures edged higher after the S&P 500 posted its biggest advance on a Federal Reserve policy-decision day since July. Japanese markets are shut for a holiday. Treasury futures edged higher, extending gains from Wednesday, while cash Treasuries are shut in Asia due to the holiday in Japan. Australia’s dollar weakened after a report showed employment in the nation fell by 52,800 last month, compared with a forecast increase of 30,000. Copper climbed above $10,000 a ton amid the threat of higher tariffs. “The Fed’s commentary will feed into dollar weakness going ahead and ease the pressure on capital outflows from Asian markets,” said Rajat Agarwal, an Asia strategist at Societe Generale SA. As US financial conditions ease on rate-cut bets and slower balance sheet runoff, it may eventually boost inflows into Asian and emerging markets stocks, he said. Chinese shares bucked the positive trend, with the mainland benchmark CSI 300 Index falling for the first time in three days. Technology companies were among the biggest losers following their recent rally. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped as much as 1.7%. Tencent Holdings Ltd. shares dropped even after the firm on Wednesday posted its fastest pace of revenue growth since 2023. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. rose after the company pledged to strengthen its position in the high-bandwidth memory chip market in response to shareholder criticism. The Fed kept its benchmark on hold Wednesday as economists expected, and Chair Jerome Powell was measured in his assessment of how the President Donald Trump’s actions might shape the economy. Powell cited the potential for the impact of tariffs on inflation to be “transitory.” US stocks rallied despite changes to Fed forecasts that could be viewed as bearish for equities, among them a tamping down of growth expectations in 2025 and a higher estimate of inflation.
Powell’s calibrated tone on recession risk – stating it was “not high” – soothed nerves among stock investors. The central bank’s move to trim growth assessments also added fuel to the bond rally, with traders and the Fed now aligned on the rate-cut outlook this year. “Powell came in and gave a pretty dovish performance in the sense of, ‘We got this, we’re in a good place, we can afford to wait, we’ll see how it goes, we’re gonna get the job done’,” Bill Dudley, the former president of the New York Fed, said on Bloomberg Television. Chinese banks held their benchmark lending rates for a fifth straight month in the absence of more monetary easing. Later Thursday, the Bank of England is forecast to leave interest rates unchanged, while the Swiss National Bank is tipped to cut them by 25 basis points, according to consensus forecasts. Oil prices inched higher after gaining on Wednesday following a US government report that allayed concerns about near-term demand destruction. Gold was little changed. Copper marched past the key threshold of $10,000 a ton after weeks of global trade dislocation triggered by Trump’s push for tariffs on the crucial industrial metal. US After Hours FIVE +9.8% higher on earnings; PRA +51.2% on deal to be acquired; FOUR +6.4% as it expands a partnership.
Nikkei Closed Hang Seng -1.84% CSI -0.84% Shanghai -0.43% Shenzen -0.33%
Eur$ 1.0903 CNH 7.2384 CNY 7.2360 JPY 148.40 GBP 1.3002 CHF 0.8769 RUB 84.0338 TRY 37.959 WTI$ 67.52 +0.54% Gold 3,052 +0.15% BTC 85,675 ETH 2,021 -0.67%
S&P +0.42% Nasdaq +0.58% EuroStoxx -0.25% FTSE -0.18% Dax -0.24% SMI -0.32%
Macro :
- Abu Dhabi Forms $25 Billion US Energy Venture to Power AI
- Fed Holds Rates Steady, Sees Slower Growth and Higher Inflation
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
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