Global market: Asian markets trade higher following gains in US stocks; SGX Nifty in the green
Comments from US Fed officials signaled that the Fed is likely to keep the interest rates steady, with Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker saying US central bankers should not raise interest rates at their next meeting.
PremiumAsian markets traded higher on Friday following a rally on Wall Street amid rising hopes that the US Federal Reserve will pause its interest rate hikes in June.
Comments from US Fed officials signaled that the Fed is likely to keep the interest rates steady, with Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker saying US central bankers should not raise interest rates at their next meeting.
Meanwhile, the US Senate is set to vote on the bill to suspend the US government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Thursday night after the bill was passed by the House a day earlier.
Overnight, data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased modestly last week and private employers hired more workers than expected in May, pointing to continued labour market tightness, Reuters reported.
Investors' focus now shifts to the Labor Department's unemployment report for May due on Friday.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in almost 50 countries, added 1.1%.
Asian markets
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rallied 1.13%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.63% higher at 31,339.65, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.72% to 2,587.74.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.33%. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.24%, while the Shenzhen Component declined 0.67%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.57%
The SGX Nifty was trading 64 points, or 0.34%, higher at 18,627.5.
US market
All the three major indices in the US ended higher. The S&P 500 gained 41.19 points, or 0.99%, to close at 4,221.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 153.30 points, or 0.47%, higher at 33,061.57. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 165.70 points, or 1.28%, to end at 13,100.98.
Europe
European stocks rose on Thursday on easing inflation data and optimism over the US debt deal. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.8% higher.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% at 7,490.27. In France, CAC 40 was up 0.6% at 7,137.43. Germany’s DAX surged 1.2% at 15,853.66.
Currencies
In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures US currency against six major peers was flat after dropping 0.6% overnight.
The euro rose 0.01% to $1.0762.
The Japanese yen fell 0.11% to 138.93 per dollar, while Sterling was at $1.2527, up 0.02%.
Gold price today
Gold prices traded flat, but were set to record their biggest weekly gain in nearly two months, amid rising hopes that the US Federal Reserve will pause policy tightening campaign, supporting appeal for the yellow metal.
Spot gold was flat at $1,976.09 per ounce, while US gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,993.40. Gold prices have risen 1.5% so far in the week.
Energy
Crude oil prices eased, heading for the biggest weekly loss in a month, as on the back of persistent concerns over demand weighing on the market ahead of an OPEC meeting.
West Texas Intermediate futures traded little changed near $70.10 a barrel, while the Brent oil was unchanged at $74.28 per barrel.
Treasury yields
US Treasury yields fell with the yield on benchmark US 10-year Treasury notes dropping to 3.607%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down at 3.826%.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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