Asia stocks surge.
Most Asian stocks rose sharply on Wednesday as markets priced in a greater chance the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, with technology shares leading gains as they rebounded from recent losses.
Australian stocks rose even as stronger-than-expected October inflation data greatly diminished expectations for more rate cuts by the Reserve Bank.
Regional markets took positive overnight cues from Wall Street, as a batch of middling economic readings drummed up optimism over a Fed December cut. Two Fed officials have also spoken in support of a December easing since Friday.
Tech shares also rebounded, although chipmaker NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) slid to a two-month low after reports said Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was preparing its own artificial intelligence chips, which could rival offerings from the former.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.3% by 23:25 ET (04:25 GMT).
Markets are pricing in a 82.7% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points during its December 9-10 meeting, up sharply from a 43.4% chance seen last week, CME Fedwatch showed.
Asia tech rebounds amid rate cut cheer, AI hopes
Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI were the best performers in Asia, rising about 2% each on a sharp recovery in tech shares. Japan’s TOPIX index added 1.9%, benefiting from buying into industrials and energy stocks with exposure to the artificial intelligence trade.
Oil climbs after hitting one-month low.
Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after sliding to a one-month low in the previous session, though an expected supply glut and a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal capped gains.
Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.45%, to $62.76 a barrel at 0708 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 26 cents, or 0.45%, to $58.27 a barrel.
“The mild gains feel more like a technical breather than a trend,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. “Any upticks we see – today or going forward – are largely driven by softer inventory signals and pockets of short-covering, but these spikes will be short-lived and fragile.”
Gold prices rise.
Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Wednesday, benefiting from a softer dollar as a batch of middling U.S. economic readings drove increased conviction that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December.
Haven demand for gold appeared strong even as broader risk-driven assets rallied this week, amid lingering tensions between Japan and China, while uncertainty over a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and stretched fiscal spending also helped.
Spot gold rose 0.9% to $4,166.13 an ounce, while gold futures for February rose 0.9% to $4,201.15/oz by 00:24 ET (05:24 GMT).
Gold rises as weak US data fuels rate cut bets
Gold surged on Tuesday and Wednesday after some economic readings for September furthered the case for more monetary easing by the Fed.
Retail sales barely grew in the month, while core producer inflation shrank more than expected, signaling persistent cooling in the U.S. economy.
The prints for September will be among the last few official economic readings the Fed has before its December meeting, with a prolonged government shutdown expected to have indefinitely delayed labor and inflation data for October.
PCE price index data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, was rescheduled to be released on December 5 by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Bets on a December rate cut grew substantially over the past week, especially as two Fed officials spoke in favor of more near-term easing.
Important Note: The information found on Ausprime platform is intended only to be informative, is not advice nor a recommendation, nor research, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument and thus should not be treated as such. The information provided does not include any specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. The past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and/or results. Past Performance or Forward-looking scenarios are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking or past performance statement
