Stocks in Asia followed U.S. benchmarks higher ahead of a slew of Chinese data after strong U.S. economic reports revived speculation the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing.
Equities in Australia rallied the most in two weeks, while Japanese and Korean shares also climbed. Futures in Hong Kong advanced, and contracts for U.S. stocks rose following gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 on Thursday as retail sales and producer prices beat estimates.
In Asia, investors will be closely monitoring a slew of economic data out of China today after the nation’s central bank cut the amount of cash lenders must hold in reserve for the second time this year.
Brent crude prices were trading above $94 a barrel, whereas WTI crude was above the $90 mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.28%, and Bitcoin was below the $27,000 level.
At 8:05 a.m., the GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 21 points, or 0.10%, at 20,238.5.
India’s benchmark stock indices fluctuated through Thursday after scaling record highs in early trade. The indices advanced for the second day after being dragged down by the small and mid-cap rout on Tuesday.
Sensex rose 0.45% to scale a new high at 67,771.05 points intraday, while Nifty 50 advanced 0.49% to hit a record high of 20,167.65 points. Broader markets were outperforming larger peers as the Nifty Smallcap 250 rose as much as 1.47% and the Nifty Midcap 150 advanced 1.05% intraday.
PSU banks, metal, real estate, and auto sectors led while fast-moving consumer goods, media, and consumer durables were under pressure.
Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities after two days on Thursday. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 294.7 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange. Domestic institutional investors became net sellers and offloaded stocks worth Rs 50.8 crore after being net buyers for five consecutive days, the NSE data showed.
The local currency weakened 5 paise to close at Rs 83.04 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday.
