Asian shares muted while dollar climbs
HONG KONG (AP)(STL.News) — Most Asian stock markets were tepid Friday while the dollar continued to march higher as investors started getting used to the new reality of a future with higher U.S. interest rates.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7 percent to 19,405.61 as the weakening yen helped shares of the country’s exporters. Other Asian indexes were listless. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,042.71 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2 percent to 22,108.20. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China crept up 0.1 percent to 3,120.54 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ticked up 0.2 percent to 5,547.80.
POST-HIKE PERSPECTIVE: After an initial jolt from the Fed’s interest rate hike decision this week, markets are adjusting to the prospect of more increases that policymakers signaled were in store as they move to “normalize” interest rates. The Fed raised rates for only the second time in a decade and hinted three more hikes are on the way in 2017, rattling markets used to ultralow borrowing costs that have fueled a multiyear stock boom. The Fed’s move now shifts focus from central bank policy to economic growth as the driver of stock market performance.
MARKET VIEW: “The market seemed to have digested the Fed rate hike and started to position itself for a brighter outlook in the U.S. economy, and the changes Donald Trump’s new administration could bring to the equities market,” said Margaret Yang of CMC Markets in Singapore. “Favorable sentiment has spread over to Asian markets this morning.”
WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks finished higher, led by banks and other financial stocks that stand to benefit from higher rates. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent to close at 19,852.24. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.4 percent to 2,262.03. Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent to 5,456.85. The three indexes are all within half a percent of their record highs.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 118.30 yen, its strongest level in 10 months, from 118.27 late Thursday. A weaker yen benefits Japan’s exporters by making boosting their earnings when they’re brought back from overseas. The euro was up to $1.0431 from $1.0412, its weakest level since early 2003.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 25 cents to $51.15 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 14 cents to settle at $50.90 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 28 cents to $54.30 a barrel in London.
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KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer
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