Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian equities extended gains Friday, tracking another Wall Street record after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and on the prospect of market-friendly policies from a Trump administration. Traders are also keenly awaiting the end of a week-long meeting of key Chinese officials who have been hammering out a major stimulus package for the world’s number two economy with an eye on the US election result.
While there are concerns that another four years of Donald Trump could see a rise in tensions between Beijing and Washington, investors are optimistic that his plans to slash taxes and push through more deregulation will boost companies’ bottom lines. There are also worries that the Republican’s policies could stoke inflation again, dealing a blow to the Fed’s long-running battle against prices. But central bank boss Jerome Powell added to the upbeat mood Thursday by insisting that the outcome of this week’s vote would have no impact on policymakers’ decision-making, adding that they would make their decisions based on data.
After the policy board cut rates 25 basis points to 4.50-4.75 percent, as expected following September’s 50-point reduction, Powell said: “We don’t guess, we don’t speculate, and we don’t assume.” The Fed’s post-meeting statement said that “labour market conditions have generally eased” since earlier in the year and noted progress in bringing inflation down to its two percent target. Traders are now trying to ascertain the outlook for another cut in December. “With Powell squarely focused on labour, the combination of an inflation rate now in the realm of the Fed’s target means it can easily justify further cuts,” said Robert Tipp and Tom Porcelli at PGIM Fixed Income. “Although uncertainty abounds, the Fed’s year-end 2025 forecast for a Fed funds rate of 3.5 percent is still a useful starting point for where this cycle is going.”
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied again to hit fresh records, helped by strong performances by tech titans Apple, Google parent Alphabet, and Facebook’s Meta. Asia took up the baton in early trade, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, and Jakarta all higher heading into the weekend.
On currency markets, the dollar edged up slightly against the yen after dropping in reaction to the Fed cut. Investors are eyeing the outcome of the week-long gathering in Beijing of officials working to hash out a stimulus to kickstart China’s economy. Economists expect lawmakers to approve hundreds of billions of dollars in extra budget, with a lot of focus on helping indebted local governments as well as cash for banks, aimed at writing off non-performing loans over the past four years. The meeting comes amid uncertainty about the outlook for China after the election of Trump, who warned during his campaign that he would hit imports from the country with huge tariffs of up to 60 percent.
“On balance, it is likely that Trump’s electoral victory presents additional downward pressure to China’s growth in the next few years (depending on various policy responses in both the US and China),” said National Australia Bank’s Gerard Burg. However, Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights added: “There is a sense of déjà vu with respect to Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, both politically as well as from a market point of view. On the one hand, we have some serious hand-wringing going on as some parts of the political spectrum go into a collective pearl-clutching meltdown at the prospect of four years of unfettered Trumpism. As far as the markets are concerned the response has been more tempered to the one we observed eight years ago, when the volatility was much more pronounced.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,515.36
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 21,084.10
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,490.75
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0789 from $1.0801 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2975 from $1.2985
Dollar/yen: UP at 153.00 yen from 152.92 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.15 pence from 83.18 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $72.00 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $75.35 per barrel
New York – Dow: FLAT at 43,729.34 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,140.74 (close)
© 2024 AFP
