Suez Canal signs $2bn first-phase deal to build petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna    ICJ holds Israel responsible for worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza    Omar Hisham announces launch of Egyptian junior and ladies' golf with 100 players from 15 nations    Egypt, Sudan discuss boosting health cooperation, supporting Sudan's medical system    Cairo Metro's Line 4 project with Japan gets cabinet green light    Defying US tariffs, China's industrial heartland shows resilience    Pakistan, Afghanistan ceasefire holds as focus shifts to Istanbul talks    Beit Logistics invests EGP 500m to develop Safaga Integrated Logistics Center    Egypt's Social Housing Fund, United Bank sign deal to expand mortgage finance cooperation    Survivors of Nothingness – Part Three: Politics ... Chaos as a Tool of Governance    EU's Kallas says ready to deepen partnership with Egypt ahead of first summit    Egypt's Sisi hails Japan's first female PM, vows to strengthen Cairo-Tokyo ties    Egypt's exports to EU surge 7.4% to $8.7b in 8 months — CAPMAS    Egypt makes news oil, gas discoveries in Nile Delta    Egypt, France agree to boost humanitarian aid, rebuild Gaza's health sector    Egyptian junior and ladies' golf open to be held in New Giza, offers EGP 1m in prizes    The Survivors of Nothingness — Part Two    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Health Minister reviews readiness of Minya for rollout of universal health insurance    Egypt screens 13.3m under presidential cancer detection initiative since mid-2023    Egypt launches official website for Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of November opening    The Survivors of Nothingness — Episode (I)    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt successfully hosts Egyptian Amateur Open golf championship with 19-nation turnout    Egypt, WHO sign 2024-2028 country cooperation strategy    Egypt: Guardian of Heritage, Waiting for the World's Conscience    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Asian markets open higher as Fed signals no rate hikes in 2020
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 12 - 12 - 2019

Asian markets mostly edged higher in Thursday afternoon trade after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled overnight that it would not raise interest rates in 2020.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.3 percent in afternoon trade while the Topix index was fractionally higher. South Korea's Kospi added 1.57 percent, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged more than 2 percent each.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.26 percent as shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent surged 2.12 percent. Life insurer AIA also saw its stock gain 2.31 percent.
Shares in mainland China, however, were mixed by the afternoon. The Shanghai composite was down 0.14 percent while the Shenzhen component added 0.2%. The Shenzhen composite was also 0.183 percent higher.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 slipping 0.64 percent.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was 1 percent higher.
Investors watched for market reaction to comments from the Fed. The U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, a decision that was largely anticipated — capping a year where the Fed cut its benchmark rate three times. The central bank also indicated it does not expect any policy changes through at least 2020.
Stocks stateside closed fractionally higher overnight following the Fed's decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 29.58 points to 27,911.30. The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 3,141.63 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4 percent to 8,654.05.
Meanwhile, developments on U.S.-China trade will continue to be monitored ahead of Sunday, when additional tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. are set to kick in.
"It seems like the baseline is for an extension but not a deal, and certainly not a tariff rollback," Alex Wolf, head of Asia investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday.
"It seems like the market is taking a fairly benign view of that deadline, of course there are worries but my guess would be that … there's more of an assumption that those will be extended, that those will not be put in place than there are that they will be," Wolf said.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.044 after touching highs above 97.5 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.55 against the dollar after touching an earlier high of 108.44. The Australian dollar was at $0.6884 after rising from levels below $0.681 in the previous session.
Oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours. The international benchmark Brent crude futures contract added 0.41 percent to $63.98 per barrel while U.S. crude futures gained 0.2 percent to $58.88 per barrel.
Source: CNBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.