Hong Kong (AFP/APP): Asian markets rose Friday after strong earnings from two tech titans provided hope for a bounce on Wall Street, while traders were also steeling themselves for key US inflation data.
The gains come at the end of a rollercoaster week for equities, but the Middle East crisis continued to cast a shadow as Israel said ground forces had raided central Gaza for a second day. And while figures showed the US economy enjoyed its best growth since late 2021 during the third quarter, observers said there was a belief it had peaked and the new year would see a slowdown.
However, questions remain over how long the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at elevated levels. All three main indexes sank Thursday, with the Nasdaq again the worst performer owing to tech firms’ susceptibility to higher borrowing costs. But blockbuster earnings from Amazon and Intel after the markets closed — and a surge in after-hours trade — provided Asian traders with hope for a bounce in New York at the end of the week.
Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Sydney, Seoul, Jakarta and Taipei were all well up.
London, Paris and Frankfurt rose in the morning. Eyes now turn to the release later on Friday of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. A slight easing of the core reading — released Thursday — provided some optimism. The reading comes ahead of the bank’s policy decision next week, and while expectations are for it to pause, traders are hoping for guidance for the next few months.
Officials have lined up in recent months to say that while there might not be any more cuts, rates could be kept at two-decade highs for an extended period.
Still, with Treasury yields sitting around 16-year highs, experts do not foresee a recovery in markets any time soon. “The stock market isn’t ready to rally until bond yields are sharply lower, which probably won’t happen until we see inflation a lot closer to the Fed’s target,” said OANDA’s Edward Moya.
And Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management added that with the economy still resilient, the question was whether it could slow enough to bring yields down to four percent from close to five percent.
“While markets are desperately trying to escape from this hurt locker squeezed on all sides by higher for longer interest rates, it’s unlikely a significant rates respite is on the cards with the US economy still firing on all cylinders,” he warned. “I guess the question is, can the economy slow down fast enough to move 10-year yields closer to four percent rather than five percent.” Oil prices rose, recovering much of their losses of more than two percent Thursday, as traders tracked developments in the Israel-Hamas war amid concerns it could draw in other countries.
