Asian stocks showed mixed performances on Thursday after Wall Street reached new record highs. Investors worldwide anticipate the Federal Reserve’s potential rate cuts to manage growth and inflation.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.6% to 40,815.95 points, with automaker shares and export-oriented stocks leading the way near 35-year highs. Toyota Motor Corp. increased by 1.3% and Advantest Corp. gained 2.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered, rising 0.1% to 17,988.25, while Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4% to 2,969.45. Taiwan’s Taiex surged by 1.2%, driven by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. gaining 2.7%.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 jumped by 1% to 7,815.80, and Seoul’s Kospi edged up 0.7% to 2,813.54. Meanwhile, Bangkok’s SET index saw a notable 1% increase.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index set a new record high at 5,537.02 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly decreased to 39,308.00, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.9% to 18,188.30.
Tesla’s stock surged by 6.5% following better sales reports than anticipated, strengthening the market along with Nvidia, up by 4.6%. The bond market also saw notable moves as Treasury yields dropped due to weak reports on U.S. jobs and service sectors.
Market analysts believe that the Fed might implement interest rate cuts by year-end to manage inflation while avoiding a potential recession. The hope is to slow economic growth enough to alleviate inflationary pressures without causing significant job losses.
The 10-year Treasury note yield fell to 4.35%, indicating market expectations of slower inflation prompting possible Fed interventions. U.S. crude oil prices slightly declined to $83.32 a barrel, and Brent oil dipped to $86.83 a barrel.
Overall, market watchers are closely monitoring potential rate cuts and economic indicators to gauge future market movements.
