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TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly higher in early trading Thursday as Wall Street recovered some of its losses from the previous day.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average briefly hit a record high in early trading, but has since fallen 0.7% to 39,794.13 yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.1% to 7,740.80. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5% to 2,654.45. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% to 16,417.39, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,053.72.
“The Fed chairman’s testimony did not trigger a significant hawkish departure from the business-as-usual scenario, adding to lower U.S. bond yields and a weaker U.S. dollar,” said Yep Jun Long, a market analyst at IG. “A positive handover from the city may provide some relief.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell He reiterated that a rate cut is possible this year, but the Fed needs more data showing inflation is cooling before taking action.
The S&P 500 rose 26.11 points, or 0.5%, to 5,104.76. The benchmark index fell 1% the previous day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75.86 points, or 0.2%, to 38,661.05. The Nasdaq Composite rose 91.95 (0.6%) to 16,031.54.
Nvidia rose 3.2% and was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 higher. Metaplatform was also solid, rising 1.2% after falling 1.6%. These are among the most influential stocks on the market due to their huge size.
Big tech stocks have contributed disproportionately to the S&P 500’s record-breaking performance, driven by continued strong growth expectations. That raised the bar for hopes that the stock could justify its lofty price, leading to a painful selloff earlier this week.
CrowdStrike soared 10.8% after the cybersecurity company reported that its latest quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectations. The company also forecast future earnings that will exceed Wall Street expectations.
shares of Troubled New York Community Bancorp Stocks rebounded and ended up 7.5% higher after the company announced a more than $1 billion lifeline from a group of investors that included former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin under President Donald Trump. did. The stock had nearly halved in early trading before trading was halted following the reports. The regional bank has lost 66% of its value this year due to declines in commercial real estate values and acquisitions.
Following the announcement, local bank stock indexes almost narrowed their decline. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Bank Index fell 0.4% after falling as much as 3.1% in the early afternoon.
As usual, Wall Street scrutinized Powell’s every word for hints about when the Federal Reserve might start cutting key interest rates, which are at their highest levels since 2001. Such measures would relieve pressure on the financial system and goose prices on investment.
Chairman Powell reiterated that high interest rates are putting downward pressure on the economy to curb inflation. He also reiterated that the Fed needs more confidence that inflation is on a sustained path toward its 2% target before taking action. Cutting interest rates too soon could cause inflation to accelerate again.
“We have some confidence” that inflation is moving down towards the target, Powell said.
“We would like to see some more data to be more confident.”
Traders have already shelved early expectations for a rate cut in March and are now focusing on June, when rates are most likely to start.
This morning’s report did little to change those predictions. A US employer said: Advertise approximately 8.9 million job openings At the end of January, the number was close to the same as a month ago.
Wall Street’s expectations were for job openings to continue to grow, but more slowly. Such a slowdown could help the economy thread the needle and avoid a recession, while also removing upward pressure on inflation. If that happens, the Federal Reserve may decide to cut interest rates.
Rubera Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said the jobs data will likely remain largely unchanged, confirming the Fed’s current stance of being “patient about future policy decisions.”
Economic activity has increased slightly since early January, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest report on U.S. business conditions. The Beige Book, released Wednesday, also showed that the tight labor market is beginning to ease somewhat in the 12 regional banking districts under the Fed’s jurisdiction.
Foot Locker fell 29.4% despite announcing its latest quarter’s profit was better than analysts expected.
In the bond market, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 4.11% from 4.14% late Tuesday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 1 cent to $79.12 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained unchanged at $82.96 per barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar depreciated slightly from 149.32 yen to 148.74 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.0902.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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