Wednesday’s gains in the Asia-Pacific stock market followed an overnight uptick in hopes that the Federal Reserve could become less hawkish. Australia’s yearly consumer price index reached its highest level since December 1990.
As of 9:25 AM (Thai Time), the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.26%.
At its opening, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong swung wildly and is now up 2.06% after three straight down sessions. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.94%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 1.15%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.79%.
Overnight in the U. S., major indexes advanced for a third consecutive day, while bond yields declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 337.12 points higher, or approximately 1.1%, to end at 31,836.74. The S&P 500 advanced 1.6%, closing at 3,859.11. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.2%, landing at 11,199.12.
“Markets rebounded overnight driven by better earnings reports and speculation that the monetary policy tightening cycle may be nearing its end,” analysts stated in an ANZ Research note, adding that declining consumer confidence and housing prices signal that tightening policies may be starting to restrict demand.
According to a statement on its website, the Bank of Japan has increased the amount of Japanese government bonds it plans to purchase as part of today’s routine operations.
The central bank offered to buy 150 billion yen ($1.01 billion) of JGBs with maturities of more than 25 years, up from the planned 100 billion yen.
