Asian stocks rally amid falling oil prices and anticipated Fed rate hold
Asian markets largely gained ground on Tuesday, driven by declining oil prices and expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause interest rate hikes until the end of the year. This uptick occurred despite cautionary sentiments arising from escalating violence in the Israel-Gaza region.
The U.S stocks, including the Dow, S&P 500, and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, bounced back from early losses following dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials Mary Daly, Lorie Logan, and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson.
In Japan, shares experienced their largest single-day gain in nine months with the Nikkei average jumping by 2.43% after a long holiday weekend. On the other hand, South Korean shares dipped slightly due to potential economic impacts of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.84% following a shortened trading session on Monday due to a typhoon. The Shanghai Composite index, however, dropped by 0.70% as debt-stricken property developer Country Garden failed to meet an international debt payment. This development led to warnings about potential offshore payment obligations failure, causing its shares to plunge by 8.3%.
Australian markets saw a substantial rise, fueled by a surge in crude oil prices and a 5.5% increase in Origin Energy after Brookfield Corp’s takeover approval. The All Ordinaries index also closed higher on this day.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index rose by 0.79%, adding to the overall positive performance of Asian stocks on Tuesday.
