AGL 36.00 Decreased By ▼ -2.00 (-5.26%)
AIRLINK 216.00 Increased By ▲ 2.09 (0.98%)
BOP 9.54 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.27%)
CNERGY 6.53 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (3.82%)
DCL 8.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.8%)
DFML 41.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-1.21%)
DGKC 98.76 Increased By ▲ 4.64 (4.93%)
FCCL 36.18 Increased By ▲ 0.99 (2.81%)
FFBL 88.94 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFL 17.15 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (4.64%)
HUBC 126.78 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.09%)
HUMNL 13.52 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.12%)
KEL 5.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.07%)
KOSM 6.96 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.29%)
MLCF 44.44 Increased By ▲ 1.46 (3.4%)
NBP 59.74 Increased By ▲ 0.89 (1.51%)
OGDC 220.72 Increased By ▲ 1.30 (0.59%)
PAEL 40.58 Increased By ▲ 1.42 (3.63%)
PIBTL 8.07 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.34%)
PPL 193.49 Increased By ▲ 1.83 (0.95%)
PRL 38.49 Increased By ▲ 0.57 (1.5%)
PTC 27.19 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (3.23%)
SEARL 104.55 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (0.53%)
TELE 8.64 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.98%)
TOMCL 35.00 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.72%)
TPLP 13.61 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (5.67%)
TREET 24.94 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-1.58%)
TRG 73.65 Increased By ▲ 3.20 (4.54%)
UNITY 33.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.27%)
WTL 1.73 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.58%)
BR100 11,980 Increased By 86.2 (0.72%)
BR30 37,181 Increased By 326.4 (0.89%)
KSE100 111,518 Increased By 1094.9 (0.99%)
KSE30 35,086 Increased By 307.9 (0.89%)

SYDNEY: Asian share markets rallied on Thursday and the dollar was weaker after most U.S stocks edged higher and the S&P 500 recorded its longest winning streak in two years, with investors on high alert for signs that global interest rates have peaked.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, although up 4.6% so far this month. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes reached 4.5059% compared with a US close of 4.523% on Wednesday.

The two-year yield, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.932% compared with a US close of 4.936%.

Australian shares were up 0.44%, and Japan’s Nikkei stock index was up 0.85%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.11% in early trade while China’s bluechip CSI300 Index was 0.2% higher in early trade.

“Markets were relatively calm following recent volatility as participants await the release of next week’s October US CPI report and try to ascertain whether last week’s moves in US Treasuries, equities and the dollar are corrective or represent a fundamental shift in direction,” ANZ economists wrote.

Chinese inflation figures for October published on Thursday showed a 0.1% decline compared to September and a 0.2% fall from one year, according to official statistics.

Asia shares extend rally on hopes of early rate cuts

China’s troubled property sector will be closely watched on Thursday after most major stocks rallied one day earlier following a Reuters report that Ping An Insurance Group had been asked by the Chinese authorities to take a controlling stake in Country Garden Holdings.

A spokesperson for Ping An said the company had not been approached by the government and denied the Reuters report that cited four sources familiar with the plan.

In Asian trading, the dollar dropped 0.06% against the yen to 150.88.

It remains not far from its high this year of 151.74 on October 31.

The European single currency was up 0.0% on the day at $1.0709, having gained 1.25% in a month.

The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was down slightly at 105.52.

The dollar has rebounded from last week’s sharp sell-off on rising confidence the Fed has ended raising rates.

There is less agreement on whether a rate cut is on the horizon with inflation still above the US Federal Reserve’s 2% target. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.10% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.08%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12%.

The S&P 500 rose for the eighth consecutive day, extending its longest win streak in two years.

The Federal Reserve last week kept the benchmark overnight interest rate in the current 5.25%-5.50% range and the central bank is due to meet again mid next month.

The U.S weekly jobless claims published on Thursday will be closely watched as an indicator of the how the country’s labour market is performing.

Economists predict claims will reach 219,000 after coming in at 217,000 last week. Oil prices slid over 2% on Wednesday to their lowest in more than three months on concerns over waning demand in the US and China.

In Asia on Thursday, US crude and Brent crude both rose 0.8% following the weak performance in the US session.

Gold was slightly higher.

Spot gold was traded at $1950.79 per ounce.

Comments

Comments are closed.