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Asian shares extend international rally, Nikkei an outlier as yen surges

Asian shares rallied on Thursday, tracking a substantial revival in international tech stocks helped by Meta and Nvidia, while potential customers of impending policy easing in the U.S. increased international bonds and products.

The Federal Reserve held rate of interest steady overnight however opened the door to a cut in September. That had traders wagering that the Bank of England may cut later in the day, with the likelihood of a move at 60%.

The yen extended its hit rally, up another 0.8% to a. 4-1/2- month high of 148.82 per dollar, having rose 1.8%. overnight. The Bank of Japan raised rate of interest for the. 2nd time in 17 years on Wednesday and signified more. tightening up to come.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. climbed 0.7%, after ending July primarily flat. A. local MSCI IT index leapt 2.0% and Taiwan's. shares surged 1.7%.

Japan's Nikkei, however, tumbled 3% as the. enhancing yen clouded the outlook for the country's. exporters.

Chinese blue chips turned 0.3% lower after a. personal study revealed China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly. diminished in July, boding ill for the nation's growth momentum.

On Wall Street, tech stocks are making a remarkable. return after the current sell-off. Nasdaq futures jumped. 1% in Asia as shares of Facebook-parent Meta Platforms. surged 7% after the bell on earnings beat. S&P 500 futures. likewise included 0.5%.

Apple and Amazon.com will report their. profits later Thursday. Nvidia already rallied,. adding about $330 billion in stock market worth on Wednesday.

Likewise helping the global danger rally is dovish comments from. Fed Chair Jerome Powell that policymakers had a genuine. conversation about cutting at the July meeting. The central bank. likewise said the risks to employment were now on a par with those. of rising costs.

As an outcome, markets, which already wager a September cut is a. done deal, are betting on a 10% opportunity that the Fed may opt for. a 50 basis points easing in September.

It appears to us that the bar is not high for the FOMC to. start alleviating policy at the next conference, said experts at TD. Securities in a note to clients.

While we think the bar is high for the Fed to cut by 50bp. in September ... we can not discard the Fed alleviating policy at each. of the last 3 conferences of 2024 if inflation continues to. come in much better than anticipated.

Treasuries rallied to the highest because the first quarter. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 2 basis points. to 4.037%, having dropped 11 bps over night.

The dollar's downturn versus a widespread yen dragged down its. broader value versus a series of currencies. The dollar index. slipped 0.2% to 103.87 on Thursday versus its significant. peers, having actually fallen 0.4% overnight.

In commodity markets, oil rates extended their surge. overnight after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran raised the. risk of a broader Middle East dispute.

Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to $81.44 per barrel,. while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures. increased 0.9%, to $78.61 per barrel.

They both leapt about 4% in the previous session.

Gold got 0.4% to $2,456.59 an ounce.

(source: Reuters)