Asia-Pacific markets follow Wall Street rise following Fed comments on rates



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Thursday 5:20 GMT

What do you want to know

  • Asia-Pacific equities up especially after the accommodative outlook of the Fed presidency
  • The dollar remains lower after overnight losses as treasuries win
  • Oil retreats after comments from Saudi Arabia

Main quote

Markets generally followed Wall Street up in Asia on Thursday, following dovish comments by the US Federal Reserve Chairman. Treasury yields fell, driving up prices, while currencies in the region had kept their gains after a sharp drop in the dollar and oil prices recovered slightly after hollows after Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not alone reduce oil production.

Hot topic

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region rose mostly after an overnight Wall Street jump, after investors interpreted Fed Chairman Jay Powell's comments as a sign that the central bank would slow down its stock market program. rising interest rates.

The Sydney S & P / ASX 200 Index returned to positive territory, up 0.6%, with most market segments advancing.

Rio Tinto climbed 3.2% after the Australian miner's announcement to spend $ 2.6 billion to develop its Koodaideri iron mine.

The Topix in Tokyo grew by 0.5%, driven by gains in the health, technology and industrial sectors. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, however, lost up to 1.8% after the South Korean Supreme Court ordered the company to compensate South Korean forced laborers for their work during the Second World War.

Hong Kong, Hang Seng gave up 0.2% after making its initial gains. Financial stocks returned to stable after rising nearly 1% early in the session. At the same time, China's CSI 300 index rose 0.2%.

Movements took place after the Wall Street rally, as US bond yields and the dollar fell as a result of Powell's comments. The Fed chairman said interest rates were close to the "neutral" level at which they neither stimulated nor hindered economic growth. The S & P 500 ended the day with a 2.3% increase and the Nasdaq Composite, a highly technical sector, by 3.2%.

Forex and fixed income

Foreign exchange markets remained broadly stable, with the dollar remaining stable after Wednesday's crash following Powell's comments. The dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of peers and lost 0.6% in the previous session, fell 0.1% to 96.652.

However, sovereign bond markets are showing signs of life after a leisurely morning as yields on 10-year US Treasury bonds, which are in the opposite direction to prices, fell 4 basis points to 3.024. %.

Basic products

Oil prices rose in Asia after being under pressure on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia said it did not cut production unilaterally. The international benchmark, Brent, rose 0.7% to 59.19 dollars a barrel, while the US giant West Texas Intermediate rose 0.5% to 50.77 dollars.

Gold rose 0.4% to $ 1,225.33 an ounce.

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