The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4%. Japan and South Korea led the advance. The Nikkei 225 climbed 1.56%, while the broader Topix added 0.91%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.65%. Hang Seng futures, however, slipped 0.3%, pointing to a softer start for Hong Kong.
GIFT Nifty trades at a discount, 60 points lower, hinting at a negative start for Nifty 50 as it kicks starts October series.
The Japanese yen barely moved at 157.36 per dollar. The offshore yuan was also little changed at 6.7073 per dollar.
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Meanwhile in India, the GIFT Nifty which implies how the country’s stock market would open for the day, implied that the stock market could open in the red. The predicted last price stayed well below the 23,000 mark.
Two developments supported the mood. US semiconductor shares posted gains, as measured by a key sector gauge, and that strength carried into Asian trading. US President Donald Trump also rejected regulations on artificial intelligence, a stance that investors read as positive for the technology industry.
Another development that bolstered the trends was the fall in oil prices. Brent crude largely held on to its losses and traded around $103 a barrel, after it fell 2.6% in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.3% to $89.10 a barrel.
The prices steadied to the current range after Saudi Arabia reportedly restored about half the capacity of its East-West pipeline after drone attacks according to a Bloomberg report. The Trump administration also ordered another release from emergency reserves while US-Iran talks remain deadlocked.Still, uncertainty remains high, as the markets seemed to want clearer signs of progress in the US-Iran negotiations after several conflicting signals in recent days.
Meanwhile in bonds, yields on the longest-dated US Treasuries touched their highest level since 2002, and the 30-year yield rose above 5.61%. The long bond has now risen for six straight days.
Also Read: Dollar hits 16-month high on Euro and Swiss Franc as US yields top 5%
Investors are demanding greater compensation for holding debt as they weigh persistent inflation, heavy government spending and a surge in corporate borrowing to fund the AI buildout, Bloomberg reported. Treasuries ended mixed on Tuesday, September 29 with the US two-year yield falling five basis points while New Zealand government bonds rallied.
Global yields have climbed to multi-year highs as high energy costs threaten to keep inflation stubborn. This has in turn raised expectations of further US Federal Reserve rate rises.
With Bloomberg Inputs