Asian stocks rally after Wall St sets new records


FE Team | Published: July 12, 2019 11:46:39 | Updated: July 16, 2019 12:44:46


File Photo (Collected)

Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday after a turbulent day on Wall Street ended with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 27,000 for the first time.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 per cent higher to 21,674.14 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.5 per cent to 28,575.96. The Shanghai Composite index also rose 0.5 per cent, to 2,931.12.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged 2.6 points lower to 6,713.50. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.3 per cent to 2,087.46. Shares fell in Taiwan but rose in Bangkok and Singapore.

Regional investors were watching for Chinese trade data due out later Friday, according to AP report.

The Wall Street milestones came on a day when the S&P 500 briefly topped 3,000 for the second straight day before the rally ran out of steam

The market lost some ground after an auction of long-term US government bonds failed to drum up strong demand. That pulled bond prices lower, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to 2.13 per cent from 2.06 per cent late Wednesday, a big move.

Stocks have been trending higher for much of the week as investors have grown more confident that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates for the first time in a decade as soon as the end of this month.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent to 2,999.91 and has set three straight record highs. The Dow gained 0.8 per cent to 27,088.08. The Nasdaq composite gave up an early gain, sliding 0.1 per cent to 8,196.04.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks dropped 0.5 per cent to 1,557.92.

Benchmark crude oil rose 37 cents to $60.57 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it lost 23 cents to settle at $60.20 a barrel.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 44 cents to $66.96 per barrel. It dropped 49 cents to close at $66.52 a barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 108.37 Japanese yen from 108.50 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1271 from $1.1254.

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