Current:Home > FinanceStock market today: Asian shares follow Wall St higher as markets await a rate decision by the Fed-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall St higher as markets await a rate decision by the Fed
View Date:2024-12-23 16:52:41
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mostly higher Wednesday ahead of expected guidance by the Federal Reserve on the timing of its cuts to interest rates.
Oil prices and U.S. futures fell.
Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years, raising the rate to a range of zero to 0.1% from minus 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen after the BOJ’s comments on its decision suggested that a wide gap between interest rates in the United States and in Japan will persist for the foreseeable future. The dollar rose to 151.46 yen from 150.87 yen, trading at its highest level in four months.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.3% to 16,580.95, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5% at 3,077.99.
China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected. While the economy is showing signs of improvement, the property market remains precarious.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.1% to 7,695.80, while the Kospi in South Korea advanced 1.3% to 2,690.48, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.4%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,178.51, topping its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.8%, to 39,110.76, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%, to 16,166.79.
International Paper rose 11% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it named Andrew Silvernail, an executive at investment company KKR, as its new CEO.
Shares of Unilever that trade in the United States added 2.8% after it said it was spinning off Ben & Jerry’s and its ice cream business, while cutting 7,500 jobs.
Nvidia swung from a loss of nearly 4% to a gain of 1.1%.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Super Micro Computer, whose stock had earlier zoomed from less than $100 to more than $1,000 in a year. The seller of server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, sank 9% after it said it’s looking to sell 2 million shares of its stock.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, the focus was on the Federal Reserve.
The Fed began its latest meeting on interest rates on Tuesday and will announce its decision later in the day. The widespread expectation is for it to leave its main interest rate alone at a two-decade high. The hope is that it will indicate it still expects to cut rates three times later this year, as it hinted a few months ago.
Part of the run for U.S. stocks to records has been because of hopes for such cuts, which would relieve pressure on the economy and financial system. But recent reports on inflation have consistently been coming in worse than expected. That could force the Fed to say it will deliver fewer rate cuts this year, and traders have already given up earlier expectations that the year’s first cut would arrive Wednesday.
Strategists at Bank of America expect Fed officials to stick with forecasts showing the median member still expects three cuts in 2024. But it’s a close call, and “risks skew to fewer cuts signaled,” according to the strategists led by Mark Cabana.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 28 cents to $82.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 20 cents to $87.18 per barrel.
The euro cost $1.0869, up from $1.0865.
veryGood! (6173)
Related
- The Daily Money: Mattel's 'Wicked' mistake
- Matt Damon Shares Insight Into Family’s Major Adjustment After Daughter’s College Milestone
- Woman who left tiny puppies to die in plastic tote on Georgia road sentenced to prison
- What causes brain tumors? Here's why they're not that common.
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
- Kentucky sheriff charged in judge’s death allegedly ignored deputy’s abuse of woman in his chambers
- S&P 500, Dow hit record highs after Fed cuts rates. What it means for your 401(k).
- Is Isaac Wilson related to Zach Wilson? Utah true freshman QB starts vs Oklahoma State
- UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
- Many players who made their MLB debuts in 2020 felt like they were ‘missing out’
Ranking
- South Carolina does not set a date for the next execution after requests for a holiday pause
- Spotted: The Original Cast of Gossip Girl Then vs. Now
- New York City Youth Strike Against Fossil Fuels and Greenwashing in Advance of NYC Climate Week
- 11-year-old charged after police say suspicious device brought on school bus in Maine
- Justine Bateman feels like she can breathe again in 'new era' after Trump win
- Closing arguments begin in civil trial over ‘Trump Train’ encounter with Biden-Harris bus in Texas
- NASCAR 2024 playoff standings: Who is in danger of elimination Saturday at Bristol?
- How to recognize the signs and prevent abuse in youth sports
Recommendation
-
Caitlin Clark's gold Nike golf shoes turn heads at The Annika LPGA pro-am
-
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will visit a Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank workers
-
Caitlin Clark and Lexie Hull became friends off court. Now, Hull is having a career year
-
How to recognize the signs and prevent abuse in youth sports
-
Texas man accused of supporting ISIS charged in federal court
-
The Midwest could offer fall’s most electric foliage but leaf peepers elsewhere won’t miss out
-
A lost cat’s mysterious 2-month, 900-mile journey home to California
-
Judge asked to cancel referendum in slave descendants’ zoning battle with Georgia county