HONG KONG: Most Asian stocks climbed Wednesday as shareholders expected European policymakers would soon lift more stimulus whereas Chinese stocks expanded their rebound following a steep fall at the start of the week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2 percent to 24,244.66 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index leapt 2 percent to 3,236.47. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 zoomed 1.4 percent higher to 5.380.80. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines and New Zealand also climbed. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.5 percent to 17,287.85 while the Bank of Japan held a policy meeting and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2 percent to 1,914.73.
Many in the markets are betting that the European Central Bank will throw the continent’s stricken economy another lifeline on Thursday. It’s widely expected that the ECB will announce another massive round of government bond buying using newly printed money — a stimulus program known as quantitative easing.
“International stock markets have been supported by the expectation that the ECB will announce quantitative easing at its meeting this week,” Ric Spooner, chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in a commentary. “However, there is significant uncertainty about the nature and detail of any program that is announced.”
The Shanghai index bounced higher for a second day after plummeting nearly 8 percent on Monday. Helping shore up sentiment was China economic growth data released Tuesday, which “was a relief to markets,” said Spooner, because it “paints a picture of slightly moderating overall growth with services sector growth going a fair way towards offsetting ongoing weakness in property.”
U.S. stocks closed slightly higher, helped by a late rise in technology stocks after a day of choppy trading. The Dow Jones industrial average rose a fraction of a percent to 17,515.23 and the broader S&P 500 index inched up 0.2 percent to 2,022.55. The Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 4,654.85.
Benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was up 35 cents to $46.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract ended its last day of tradingTuesday by dropping $2.30 to close at $46.39 a barrel. Brent crude for March delivery, the international benchmark, rose 32 cents to $48.31 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 117.86 yen from 118.64 yen the previous day. The euro edged up to $1.1571 from $1.1548.
shanghai shares start week with losses 25 june 2018
Hong Kong, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jun, 2018 ) :Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks fell on...
