Asian stocks gain small gains after comments by Fed president

HONG KONG (Nikkei Markets) – Asian equities outside Japan edged up on Thursday, despite a decline in shares in China and Hong Kong as market participants appeared to have commented on comments by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. like dovish.

The Nikkei Asia300 index rose 0.3% to 1,233.53. The gauge had risen 0.9% earlier after Powell's statements in New York on Wednesday provoked Wall Street gains and a weaker US dollar. Powell said that US interest rates appeared to be "just below" a neutral level, fueling bets on the fact that the central bank might not increase rates as many times in 2019 as some did not. they had planned.

"The word" just below "is clearly different from the term" very far from neutrality "in a statement it made on October 3," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at the currency trader. FXTM, in a note. "Although investors still believe that a rate hike in December is a fact of life, they are now waiting for it to remain more than one in 2019. , instead of the three suggested by the Fed's forecast at the September meeting ".

Some market participants were not in agreement.

"We think the market may have misinterpreted the message," said Eugene Leow, a rate strategist at DBS Group Research. "The December rate hike still seems to be a fact, and we doubt that the Fed will keep an indefinite period thereafter, and if US data continues as expected, it should be able to achieve several more increases in 2019."

Asian equities were down slightly after the Chinese and Hong Kong markets pulled back, with the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite losing 1.3% and 0.9%.

Regional technology heavyweights were mixed on Thursday. Tencent Holdings started a three-day winning streak, down 0.9% in Hong Kong, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) gained 1.1% for the fourth straight time. Samsung Electronics ended unchanged in Seoul.

The biopharmaceutical company Celltrion rose 0.4% in Seoul after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its biosimilar for Roche Holding's anti-cancer drug Rituxan.

Tata Steel rose 1.8% in Mumbai, its second day of gains after a five-game losing streak. Moody's Investors Service announced Thursday that its outlook for the Asian steel industry in 2019 was stable. In India, in particular, the consolidation of the steel sector and the strong demand for this alloy will contribute to the strong profitability of Tata Steel, said Moody's.

The rating agency said that the escalation of the Sino-US trade dispute would have a limited impact on steel demand in Asia, given the moderate indirect impact related to steel chains. Sourcing and direct live macro impact manageable.

The South Korean steel manufacturer Posco added 1.5%.

IHH Healthcare jumped 4.8% in Kuala Lumpur. Khazanah Nasional, the holding branch of the Malaysian government, announced Thursday that it was selling 16% of the capital of the hospital operator to the Japanese group Mitsui & Co. at a price of 8.42 billion ringgit (2.01 billions of dollars).

Malayan Banking (Maybank), the largest lender in Malaysia in terms of assets, edged up 0.2%, even as its third quarter profit was down 3.5%.

–Suzannah Benjamin