Asian Stocks Rise After Wall Street Rebound, Hong Kong Gains 2.8%
Bangkok – On Wall Street Thursday as investors welcomed a report showing US consumer confidence is holding up despite a campaign to fight inflation by raising rates. Asian stocks rose after the rally.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.8%, while benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul. Mumbai declined. US futures and oil prices edged higher.
Markets got a boost from a report showing US consumer confidence surprisingly strong despite inflation weighing on wallets.The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 101.4 in November. to 108.3 in December. That pushed the index to his highest level since April. Last month’s numbers were the lowest since July.
Asian markets also rallied from last night’s rally in tech stocks, which spilled over into trading in Hong Kong. E-commerce giant Alibaba rose his 4.8%, while online services company Tencent rose his 3.9%. His Meituan, an online shopping and food delivery platform, rose by 5.7%.
Hang Seng jumped 528 points to 19,688.67 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,075.81.
“Asian stocks picked up where the U.S. market left off, led by tech and real estate firms, following a flood of comments from regulators supporting the broader market,” SPI Asset Management’s Steven Innes said in a commentary. rose.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 26,525.91 while Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.7% to 2,347.49. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,152.20.
Stocks ended generally higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, with the major indices taking the green this week.
The S&P 500 rose 1.5% to 3,878.44 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to 33,376.48. This was helped by Nike’s 12.2% gain after earnings fell short of analyst expectations.
Technology companies accounted for a large share of Wednesday’s gains. Apple rose 2.4%.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5% to 10,709.37.
Small business stocks also rose. The Russell 2000 Index rose 28.92 points (1.7%) to 1776.94.
Consumer spending and the job market are strong areas of the US economy that have kept it from slipping into recession. Wall Street is hoping for a “soft landing” after decades of high inflation and the rate hikes being rolled out to keep it in check.
The Federal Funds Rate, the Fed’s main lending rate, is in the 4.25% to 4.5% range, the highest in 15 years. Federal Reserve policymakers predict interest rates will reach a range of 5% to 5.25% by the end of 2023 and will not be cut until 2024.
If the Fed raises rates too much, it could slow the economy down into recession.
Yields on government bonds have generally declined. Yields on 10-year Treasuries, which affect mortgage rates, fell to 3.66% from 3.69% late Tuesday.
Other new data released Wednesday The country’s housing market showed a further slowdown last month as sales of previously occupied homes fell for the 10th straight month. It has become even more difficult for prospective homebuyers.
On Friday, the government will release the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index, a monthly snapshot that keeps a close eye on trends in private consumption. The report is being monitored by the Fed as a barometer of easing inflation, albeit at a moderate pace. The economist expects the report to show he saw inflation fall in November.
In energy trading, US benchmark crude rose 47 cents to $78.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, it rose from $2.06 to $78.29 per barrel.
U.S. inventory data is strategic oil reserves Thanks to a bigger-than-expected cut last week, oil prices have fallen to 378.6 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983. Concerns that sluggish demand due to the economic slowdown was driving up prices have been dispelled.
Brent crude, the price benchmark for international trade, rose 43 cents to $83.01 a barrel.
The US dollar fell to 131.92 yen from 132.42 yen. The euro rose from $1.0606 to $1.0640.
___
Contributed by AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
https://www.local10.com/business/2022/12/21/world-shares-mostly-higher-after-slight-gains-on-wall-st/ Asian Stocks Rise After Wall Street Rebound, Hong Kong Gains 2.8%