Asian shares had a mostly positive session today. This came on the heels of a remarkable week for Wall Street, with all three major indices reaching record highs. The closely watched S&P 500 added 0.5% to finish at 6,664.36, notching its sixth winning week out of the past seven. Dow up 172.85 points, or 0.4%, at 46,315.27. At the other end, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 160.75 points or 0.7%, closing the day at 22,631.48.
The ongoing bullish advance in the U.S. equity markets has sent ripples across Asia. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.0% in afternoon trading to 45,515.33, rebounding from a recent decline attributed to concerns over the Bank of Japan’s selling of its holdings. On September 17, the central bank reduced its balance sheet for the first time this year. This decision raised red flags for investors.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.4%. It climbed to an all-time high of 8,810.90, riding a bull run of positive sentiment sweeping across the markets. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% to reach 3,465.33. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled by 1.0% to end at 26,268.53. At the same time, the Shanghai Composite remained close to flat, falling less than 0.1% to 3,818.50.
Market watchers pointed out the way positive momentum in U.S. markets has shifted investor mood across the world. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, commented on the phenomenon:
“Every time the market seems to be running out of momentum, it fools most of us by pushing to higher heights.”
Investors are eagerly awaiting any clues from the Federal Reserve, as officials make their rounds of speaking this week. Woods continued that traders in particular have their ears tuned for any hints that can be gleaned about where monetary policy might be going.
In commodities, Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, rose 41 cents to $67.09 a barrel. On Friday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond was up to 4.12%, compared with 4.11% late Thursday. This modest increase does mark a recent uptick in the cost of borrowing.
