With global growth anemic and China the big look-to savior many investors apparently took some relief in the data sending Asian shares higher in the process for the second straight session, not that concerns about an overheated housing market and high debt levels in China have completely disappeared. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.2%, the MSCI outside Asia-Pacific tacked on 0.4% following a 1.4% gain Monday.
Shares in Australia also firmed 0.4%, Shanghai shares edged higher 0.2% while the Hang Seng fell 0.1% after gaining 1.6% in the previous session. The Shenzhen Composite was also slightly higher, 0.1%. Many viewed the Chinese data as a sign things were holding up reasonable well despite all the concerns about U.S. interest rates and what the ECB's next move will be when it meets Thursday. Others continue to look for a coming slow down given much of the mixed data out as of late as many feel the Chinese data is crucial for not only Asia but the U.S.
In the currency markets the dollar index dipped slightly slipping to 97.79 against a basket of currencies,somewhat of a surprise since in the U.S.the consumer price index rose 0.35in September after rising 0.25 in August. The British pound climbed as high as $1.2314 in early Asia trade, up from levels below $1.216 on Tuesday, following reports on Tuesday that parliament may need to ratify any deal to exit the European Union, helping to ease concerns of a "hard Brexit."That offset higher-than-expected U.K. inflation data for September which showed a 1.0 percent on-year increase in prices, which may dampen consumer demand even as the Bank of England has said it will remain dovish, Reuters reported. In the U.S. the Dow gained nearly 76 points, 0.42%, to 18,161.94, the S&p 500 Index added 13.10 points for a 0.62% gain, closing at 2,139.84 and the Nasdaq mover 44 points higher to close at 5,243.84. Gold was up slightly, 0.6%, at $1,263.31 an ounce
No comments:
Post a Comment