During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.2%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended 0.2% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.1% in volatile trade.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei rebounded from a loss of as much as 1% at the open as the yen retreated from a three-week high against the U.S. dollar.
USD/JPY hit a session high of 100.31, bouncing off the previous day’s three-week low of 98.85.
Japanese megabanks surged, with shares in the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumping 7.5%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuno Financial Group rallied 9% and 9.3% respectively.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index ended higher after the RBA held its benchmark interest rate at 2.75%, broadly in line with market expectations.
In its accompanying rate statement, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said, “The inflation outlook, as currently assessed, may provide some scope for further easing, should that be required to support demand.”
The big four banks were mostly higher, with Australia's top lender, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia adding 0.5%, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking Group tacked on 1.3% and 0.4% apiece.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng swung between modest gains and losses amid ongoing uncertainty over China’s economic outlook, following the release of conflicting Chinese manufacturing data earlier in the week.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a mildly higher open.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.2% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 futures eased up 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.3% at the open.
Spain was to release official data on employment later in the trading day, while the U.S. was to produce a report on the trade balance.
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