Asian stocks rise as solid US performance lifts spirits

Asian markets climbed higher on Wednesday as a sweep of positive news from Wall Street and beyond boosted confidence in the U.S. economy. (Photo: Pixabay)

SINGAPORE – Asian markets climbed higher on Wednesday as a sweep of positive news from Wall Street and beyond boosted confidence in the U.S. economy.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.0 per cent to 22,921.20 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 2,304.64. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6 per cent to 28,351.53. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.4 per cent to 2,808.24. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8 per cent to 6,254.20. Shares rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

WALL STREET: U.S indexes rebounded after a weak start on solid gains for retailers, technology and household goods companies. Prescription drug business Johnson & Johnson and financial services company Charles Schwab posted bullish earnings, adding to the largely positive corporate earnings season. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4 per cent to 2,809.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent to 25,119.89. The Nasdaq composite jumped 0.6 per cent to 7,855.12, surpassing the record high it set last week. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 0.5 per cent to 1,687.26.

UPBEAT FED COMMENT: Delivering his twice-a-year report on monetary policy to Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects the job market to remain robust and inflation to hover around the Fed’s 2 per cent target for the next few years. Stocks have fallen after Powell’s previous major addresses, but not on Tuesday.

U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: The Fed said U.S. industrial production, including output at factories, mines and utilities, climbed 0.6 per cent in June. It fell 0.5 per cent in May after a fire disrupted production of Ford Motor’s F-series pickup trucks, America’s bestselling vehicle. U.S. manufacturing still looks healthy despite trade conflicts with China, Europe and Canada and a rising dollar that makes U.S. products more expensive abroad.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “While earnings and the highly-watched testimony to Senate by Fed chair Powell played a part, movements remained largely muted with the likes of the Dow and the S&P 500 index clocking only moderate gains overnight,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 34 cents to $67.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was relatively unchanged at $68.08 in New York on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 30 cents to $71.86 per barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.95 yen from 112.83 yen late Tuesday. The euro eased to $1.1654 from $1.1664.