financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
Morning Bid: Fed adrenaline keeps pumping, PBOC inertia may drag
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Morning Bid: Fed adrenaline keeps pumping, PBOC inertia may drag
Sep 22, 2024 3:21 PM

(Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.

The adrenaline from the Federal Reserve's bold interest rate cut and signal of intent to keep easing still appears to be coursing through global financial markets, which should see risk assets in Asia start the week on a strong footing on Monday.

Nikkei futures are pointing to a rise of more than 1% at the open in Japan, with Japanese shares also getting a boost from the yen's slide last week. The rise in longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields, however, could temper some of the optimism.

Friday's monetary policy decisions from Japan and China may also reverberate around Asian markets on Monday, and on that score, the picture is more mixed.

As was widely expected, the Bank of Japan decided not to raise rates, but it signaled it is in no hurry to raise them again. This helped push the yen to its weakest daily close since September 4, which in turn helped lift Japanese stocks.

The People's Bank of China also left rates on hold but this was more of a surprise. Domestically, China's weak economic and inflation dynamics appear to be screaming out for lower rates, and internationally, the Fed's outsized rate cut of 50 basis points gave the PBOC cover to move.

But it didn't, despite the mounting evidence that it perhaps should have. The latest figures to reflect investors' gloomy view of China were foreign direct investment flows on Friday - in the first eight months of the year they were down 31.5% on the same period last year, the biggest fall since January 2009.

The yuan is its strongest in 16 months though, thanks to the central bank's reluctance to cut rates and rising expectations that authorities will soon unveil stimulus that will revive growth, asset prices and confidence.

The yen, meanwhile, starts the week on a soft footing after a roller-coaster ride last week. It rallied through 140.00 per dollar for the first time in over a year but closed near 144.00 per dollar for a weekly loss of 2%, its worst week since April.

Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said yen carry trades of the past are likely to have been mostly unwound, but Tokyo is watching for any rebuild that could heighten market volatility, public broadcaster NHK quoted him as saying.

U.S. futures market positioning data shows speculators growing more optimistic on the yen for an 11th straight week, increasing their net long positions to an eight-year high.

The Asia and Pacific calendar on Monday is reasonably busy, with inflation figures from Malaysia and Singapore, flash September purchasing managers index (PMI) data from Australia and India, and New Zealand trade figures the highlights.

The Reserve Bank of Australia begins its two-day policy meeting too.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Monday:

- Australia flash PMIs (September)

- India flash PMIs (September)

- Malaysia inflation (August)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Trading Day: Trump-Musk feud slams stocks
Trading Day: Trump-Musk feud slams stocks
Jun 5, 2025
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist  There was plenty of meaty news for investors to get their teeth into on Thursday - U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping's long-awaited phone call, a rate cut and guidance from the European Central Bank, and more soft...
TRADING DAY-Trump-Musk feud slams stocks
TRADING DAY-Trump-Musk feud slams stocks
Jun 5, 2025
ORLANDO, Florida, June 5 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist There was plenty of meaty news for investors to get their teeth into on Thursday - U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping's long-awaited phone call, a rate cut and guidance from the European Central Bank, and...
S&P 500, Nasdaq Post First Declines in Four Days as Tesla Slides Amid Trump-Musk Spat
S&P 500, Nasdaq Post First Declines in Four Days as Tesla Slides Amid Trump-Musk Spat
Jun 5, 2025
05:14 PM EDT, 06/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 registered their first declines in four days as shares of Tesla (TSLA) tumbled amid a feud between the electric car maker's chief executive, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump over his administration's tax bill. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.8% to 19,298.5 on Thursday, while the S&P...
TSX Closer: The Index Posts a Minor Gain as Canada's Trade Deficit Swelled in April
TSX Closer: The Index Posts a Minor Gain as Canada's Trade Deficit Swelled in April
Jun 5, 2025
04:19 PM EDT, 06/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange posted a small gain on Thursday, following on Wednesday's dip, but failed to reach the record closing levels of earlier this week amid diverging views on the outlook for interest rates and after Canada posted its largest-ever trade deficit. The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange closed up 13.29 points to 26,342.29....
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved