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HONG Asian markets rose Wednesday to maintain their strong start to the year, with Tokyo soaring and the yen tumbling after the Bank of Japan decided against further tweaking monetary policy.
Weak earnings from banking titan Goldman Sachs, a jobs warning by Microsoft, and a plunge in manufacturing data highlighted the bumpy road ahead for the United States, the world’s top economy, despite optimism over inflation and the improving interest rate outlook.
Still, hopes for China’s recovery continued to provide much-needed support, with Vice Premier Liu He telling the Davos forum that growth will likely rebound this year as the country reopens after zero-Covid while adding that Covid infections had peaked.
His comments came after data showed the Chinese economy expanded last year at its slowest pace since 1976 — excluding pandemic-hit 2020 — but beat forecasts.
The news added to hopes for a global recovery after last year’s pain caused by rising prices, rate hikes, China’s economic woes, a spike in energy costs and the war in Ukraine.
“Last fall, there was broad consensus that China was in the wrong place, Europe was slipping into a recession, and the Fed was ultimately caught ‘wrong-footed’ by very sticky inflation,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.
