3 months ago
83
People walk inside the Korea Exchange (KRX) building, as stock markets in Asia as a whole have been affected by the intensifying political turmoil over president Yoon Suk Yeol's role in martial law, in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 9, 2024.
Daniel Ceng | Anadolu | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly climb Thursday, after U.S. markets soared on the back of an unexpected decline in core inflation numbers in December and strong bank earnings.
Investors in Asia await the Bank of Korea's rate decision later in the day, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the BOK to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to rise, with the futures contract in Osaka last trading at 38,750. Meanwhile, its counterpart in Chicago was at 38,820, against the index's last close of 38,444.58.
Japan is expected set to announce its producer price index numbers for December later in the day. Economists polled by Reuters expect the figures to hit 0.4%, up from November's 0.3%.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 19,426 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI's close of 19,286.07.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 1.53%.
The country is slated to release its unemployment figures for December later in the day. Its unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly to 4% from November's 3.9%, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks saw significant gains with all three major averages recording their best day since Nov. 6.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.65%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.83%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.45%.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropped sharply at about 4.65% or around 13 basis points on the back of the CPI report.
Oil prices rose following news of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal. Brent crude gained 3.22% while the WTI edged up 0.3% to settle at $80.28 per barrel.
— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
Quantum stocks soar Wednesday
Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Shares of quantum companies surged Wednesday after Microsoft called 2025 the year to get "quantum-ready."
D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing popped 34% and 27%, respectively. The Defiance Quantum & AI ETF rose around 3% on the day.
The rally was also fueled by Nvidia on Tuesday announcing a "Quantum Day" at its GTC conference in March.
Earlier this month, the quantum rally suffered a pullback after comments from Big Tech CEOs Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg tempered expectations on the technology, suggesting that useful quantum computers remain decades on the horizon.
— Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin
Equities becoming more sensitive to yields, says Nationwide strategist
Growth stocks such as Tesla and other Big Tech names popped Wednesday after Treasury yields dropped on the slowdown in core inflation from December's consumer price index report.
The pullback in yields following the CPI report is "a welcome relief following a 1.2% move in the 10-year Treasury yield since September," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
"Equity investors have become increasingly sensitive to moves in the bond market, with an intense focus on rates, inflation, and Fed policy," Hackett added.
— Hakyung Kim
Economic growth, inflation tick higher, Fed 'Beige Book' shows
Economic activity ticked up over the past seven weeks, as did hiring and prices, according to an update Wednesday from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed's "Beige Book" characterized growth as up "slightly to moderately" across its 12 districts as consumer spending and vehicle sales picked up while construction pulled back due to higher costs for materials and financing.
On the labor market, the report said half the Fed districts saw a "slight increase" in hiring while the rest were flat. Wage growth also moved at a "moderate" pace.
Turning to inflation, prices rose "modestly overall" with pullbacks noted in retail and manufacturing.
—Jeff Cox
English (US)