Asian stock markets rose on Thursday, led by a surge in Japanese equities, which hit record highs, driven by strong tech-sector gains on Wall Street, positive corporate earnings and increasing optimism about potential U.S. interest rate cuts.
Investor sentiment was further supported by the possibility of an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine. This development buoyed the euro while putting some downward pressure on oil prices, as markets assessed the implications for future sanctions on Russia.
Asian shares surge amid new tariff announcements
In the Asian stock market, Japan’s Topix index rose 0.9 percent to reach an all-time high and was trading at 2,982.96 as of 5:17 GMT. Meanwhile, the more tech-focused Nikkei index rose 0.42 percent to 40,964.90.
Taiwan’s stock benchmark TAIEX surged 2.4 percent to a more than one-year high, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.62 percent to 3,217.94. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.52 percent, and China’s CSI 300 Index was up 0.053 percent.
The British pound remained steady at a one-week high ahead of the Bank of England’s policy decision later in the day, with markets broadly anticipating a 25-basis point rate cut.
Meanwhile, global markets appeared largely unfazed by Trump’s latest tariff threats—including a new 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over Russian oil imports and a potential 100 percent tariff on semiconductor chips—suggesting that investors are becoming desensitized to new trade announcements.
Read: Dubai 24-carat gold prices rise to AED407 as safe-haven demand surges on new India tariffs
U.S. dollar falls on rate cut bets
In the U.S. stock market, futures edged higher on Thursday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures both up 0.3 percent, following a strong session on Wall Street where the S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2 percent.
Analysts noted improved market sentiment; however, they cautioned that several downside risks remain, including an increase in negative economic data surprises, elevated equity valuations with forward price-to-earnings ratios at four-year highs, and lingering trade uncertainty that continues to cloud the economic outlook.
The U.S. dollar remained weaker against major currencies on Thursday, weighed down by growing expectations of a more accommodative stance from the Federal Reserve. This outlook was reinforced by recent disappointing economic data, particularly last Friday’s soft payrolls report, as well as President Trump’s decision to nominate new Fed board members who are expected to align with his preference for looser monetary policy.
Attention is increasingly turning to President Trump’s upcoming nomination to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, as well as potential candidates to succeed Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed Chair concludes in May. Markets are closely watching these decisions, given their potential to shape the central bank’s policy direction in the months ahead.
The U.S. dollar index, which gauges the currency against six other major currencies, fell 0.03 percent to 98.15, after dropping 0.6 percent on Wednesday. The euro was little changed at $1.1657, following the previous session’s 0.7 percent jump, while sterling was steady at $1.3356.
