TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday as investors awaited the release of U.S. consumer price data and kept a cautious watch on the war between Israel…
Asian shares mostly rose Thursday as investors awaited the release of U.S. consumer price data and kept a cautious watch on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% to finish at 32,494.66. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up less than 0.1% to 7,091.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.1% to 2,477.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 2.2% to 18,283.66, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.9% to 3,106.21.
“Recent remarks from FOMC members have leaned dovish, suggesting that the Fed might maintain current short-term rates,” Anderson Alves at ActivTrades said in a report, referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s action on interest rates.
Tensions in the Middle East are under the spotlight, with a possible escalation if nations like Lebanon or Iran are drawn in, which would set off significant movement in U.S. Treasuries, he said.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 4,376.95 for its fourth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 33,804.87, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.7% to 13,659.68. All three indexes moved between small gains and losses through the day.
Wall Street has been mostly struggling since the summer as longer-term yields shoot higher in the bond market, weighing on prices for all kinds of investments.
