HONG KONG (AFP) – Asian markets mostly rose yesterday and London hit a fresh record, with hopes for earnings this week from tech titans helping to offset worries about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate plans ahead of the release of key United States (US) growth and inflation data.
The apparent easing of Iran-Israel tensions continued to weigh on oil prices, while the yen inched slightly higher as Japan again warned authorities had the room to intervene to support the currency.
Investors are a little more upbeat after last week’s struggles fuelled by dimming hopes for US interest rate cuts and concerns the Middle East crisis could escalate into a regional war.
Focus is now on the corporate reports from Wall Street titans including Amazon, Apple, Netflix and General Motors, with observers saying that traders are keen to see strong earnings as well as positive outlooks.
However, there is a worry that equities could take a hit if the results disappoint, with the surge in markets in recent months partly helped by bets on firms providing bumper returns, even as hopes for a Fed rate cut fade.
Still, all three main indexes in New York chalked up much-needed gains.
And most of Asia followed suit, extending their advances from Monday.
Hong Kong piled on more than one per cent, while Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta were also enjoying buying action. Shanghai, Seoul and Wellington struggled.
London rose again, having closed at a record high on Monday with the Bank of England tipped to slash interest rates soon thanks to cooling inflation.
Paris and Frankfurt were also both up.
Key data out of Washington this week will provide a fresh idea about the central bank’s plans, with updates on US gross domestic product and monetary policymakers’ preferred gauge of inflation the standouts.
The personal consumption expenditures index, which is due on Friday, comes after three months of above-forecast readings on consumer prices that have seen investors lowering their outlook for rate cuts this year.
They now see two at best, compared with six forecast at the start of 2024.
Decision-makers have also moved to push back against market expectations for how many reductions were in the pipeline.
“The debate surrounding the Federal Reserve’s stance on rate cuts persists, especially after Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers adopted a more hawkish tone last week in response to persistent inflationary pressures,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.
