By Stella Qiu
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares rallied on Thursday, tracking a huge revival in global tech stocks helped by Meta and Nvidia, while prospects of imminent policy easing in the U.S. boosted global bonds and commodities.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady overnight but opened the door to a cut in September. That had traders wagering that the Bank of England might cut later in the day, with the probability of a move at 60%.
The yen extended its blockbuster rally, up another 0.8% to a 4-1/2-month high of 148.82 per dollar, having surged 1.8% overnight. The Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the second time in 17 years on Wednesday and signalled more tightening to come.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.7%, after ending July mostly flat. A regional MSCI IT index jumped 2.0% and Taiwan’s shares surged 1.7%.
Japan’s Nikkei, however, tumbled 3% as the strengthening yen clouded the outlook for the country’s exporters.
Chinese blue chips turned 0.3% lower after a private survey showed China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly shrank in July, boding ill for the country’s growth momentum.
On Wall Street, tech stocks are making an extraordinary comeback after the recent 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 also added 0.5%.
Apple and Amazon.com will report their earnings later on Thursday. Nvidia already rallied, adding about $330 billion in stock market value on Wednesday.
Also helping the global risk rally is dovish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that policymakers had a “real discussion” about cutting at the July meeting. The central bank also said the risks to employment were now on a par with those of rising prices.
As a result, markets, which already bet a September cut is a done deal, are wagering on a 10% chance that the Fed may go for a 50 basis points easing in September.
“It seems to us that the bar is not high for the FOMC to begin easing policy at the next meeting,” said analysts 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 cannot discard the Fed easing policy at each of the last three meetings of 2024 if inflation continues to come in better than expected.”
Treasuries rallied to the highest since the first quarter. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 2 basis points to 4.037%, having dropped 11 bps overnight.
The dollar’s slump against a rampant yen dragged down its broader value against a range of currencies. The dollar index slipped 0.2% to 103.87 on Thursday against its major peers, having fallen 0.4% overnight.
In commodity markets, oil prices extended their surge overnight after the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran raised the threat of a wider Middle East conflict. [O/R]
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 jumped about 4% in the previous session.
Gold gained 0.4% to $2,456.59 an ounce. [GOL/]
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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