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Stocks soar as the prospect of Fed easing outweighs political uncertainty

Asia stocks rose Tuesday on the back of expectations that the U.S. will cut rates as soon as next week. However, political turmoil around world kept currency and bonds investors on edge.

MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose by 0.2% early in the morning, following Wall Street's lead that was set overnight when Nasdaq closed at a record-high.

Nasdaq Futures continued the rally that began in the cash session, and ended the day up 0.06%. S&P500 futures also ticked higher by 0.05%.

The expectation that the Federal Reserve will ease rates at its meeting next week after Friday's disappointing U.S. employment report gave new life to the rally.

Investors are betting on a 25 basis-point cut in this month's inflation data. They now want to know if the Fed will make a 50 bp move.

Later in the day, the U.S. Labor Department is also expected to report an estimate of the preliminary revisions for the employment levels during the past 12 months up until March.

Both publications will influence the central banks' pace on the monetary policy staircase, said Jose Torres senior economist at Interactive Brokers. He was referring to PPI and CPI data.

A large subtraction of workers from the roster, coupled with a CPI that is below the target level, will likely increase the odds by a half percent to a coin toss.

According to CME FedWatch, the markets now price in a little over 10% chance that the Fed will lower rates by 50bp next month. This is compared to 0% a week earlier.

Other European futures were lower after the benchmark indexes had a positive cash session on Sunday.

The EuroStoxx 50 futures declined by 0.17%. Meanwhile, the FTSE and DAX Futures both slid by 0.04% and 0.22% respectively.

The Nikkei index in Japan jumped by nearly 1% after the resignation of fiscal hawk Shigeru Shiba as Prime Minister.

Ryosei Acazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, said Tuesday in a X message that U.S. duties on Japanese products including auto parts and cars will be reduced by September 16.

POLITICAL TURMOIL

In recent sessions, currency and bond markets have been shaken by renewed uncertainty about the political landscape in various countries.

Investors had a lot to consider, from Ishiba’s resignation in Japan to Francois Bayrou’s ouster as French Prime Minister, to the heavy defeat of the ruling party of President Javier Milei of Argentina, to the sudden replacement of Indonesia’s finance minister.

Even so, the dollar's decline has largely capped losses in all currencies, and bond markets are now largely stable.

The yen last gained 0.1% at 147.37 to the dollar, recouping its previous session's losses, while the euro remained steady at $1.1768.

After rising the previous session, yields on Japanese government bond fell on Tuesday. Bond yields are inversely related to bond prices.

Shier Lee Lim is the lead FX and macrostrategist for APAC, at Convera.

The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury, which is usually a good indicator of near-term expectations, has been stuck at 3.4966%, a level that's been near its lowest in five months.

The benchmark 10-year rate was also pinned at its lowest point in five months and stood last at 4.04944%.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as OPEC+ increased production less than expected by market participants.

Brent crude futures rose by 0.36% to $66.26 a barrel. U.S. crude climbed 0.37%, reaching $62.49 per barrel.

Gold spot reached a new record of $3,647.23 per ounce on the back of expectations of Fed cuts imminent.

(source: Reuters)