Asian Stocks Mirror Wall Street Gains Ahead Of Powell's Speech And Key Data
The dollar snapped a three-day losing streak following Donald Trump's threat on the BRICS nations on using the Dollar
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region powered ahead, following an overnight rally on Wall Street, led by technology stocks, ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair's speech and barrage of data releases.
Equity benchmarks in South Korea and Japan led to gains during the session's opening. The Nikkei was 433 points, or 1.12%, higher at 38,936, while the S&P ASX 200 was up 66 points, or 0.78%, at 8,514 as of 5:35 a.m.
Traders will eye French stocks and bonds, which will continue under pressure on Tuesday amid the nation’s political turmoil. Marine Le Pen pledged to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government after he failed to meet her demands on a new budget.
China's stocks closed higher on Monday following a mixed economic picture. China’s 10-year yield dropped past the key psychological milestone of 2% and was at a record low. The stock market benchmark—CSI 300—closed Monday's session with gains of 0.79%.
Meanwhile, in a fresh threat, the Biden administration announced new restrictions on China's access to critical processors and artificial intelligence components for chips and AI. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, though it didn’t name them in the statement.
Multiple Federal Reserve speakers along with Chair Jerome Powell are slated to address the public on Tuesday and Wednesday. Traders await Powell's views on inflation and growth ahead of the December policy meeting. Swap traders are pricing in more than 70% chance of a quarter-point reduction in the upcoming meet, according to Bloomberg News.
Data on US factory orders, durable goods and the S&P Global Composite PMI are due on Wednesday. India's Reserve Bank of India will decide on its key interest rates on Friday.
Stocks on Wall Street hit a new peak powered by technology stocks with the S&P 500 index notching its 54th closing record this year. The S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.24% and 0.97%, respectively, on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.29%.
Treasury 10-year yields advanced two basis points to 4.19%. The dollar snapped a three-day losing streak following Donald Trump's threat on the BRICS nations on using the Dollar. The dollar index—which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies—was trading 0.67% higher at 106.44.
Crude oil prices remained flat as traders awaited clues on OPEC+’s supply plans ahead of its meeting this Thursday. The Brent crude was trading 0.01% lower at $71.83 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was up 0.12% at $68.18.
