Asian Stocks Rise After Wall Street Rally Amidst Ongoing Trade Concerns

Tokyo, Japan - Asian equity markets advanced on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, as stocks and bonds in the United States surged. The rally comes despite ongoing concerns over trade tariffs, mixed tech earnings, and uneven economic data in the US.

Equity Markets

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed for the third consecutive day, reaching its highest level since December 18th. US equity futures held steady after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 posted a second day of gains on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index both advanced, reversing their declines from Wednesday.

Policy Developments

The US Postal Service announced it would accept all international mail and packages from China and Hong Kong, reversing its earlier decision to suspend certain overseas shipments.

Bank of Japan official Naoki Tamura stated that Japanese interest rates could reach 1% in the second half of fiscal year 2025. The yen also saw increased demand from hedge funds amidst volatile trading conditions.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the Trump administration's focus on reducing 10-year Treasury yields rather than the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate.

Economic Indicators

Asian economic data for the day includes inflation figures for Vietnam and Thailand. In Europe, the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.5%.

In the US, initial jobless claims will be released later on Thursday.

Commodities

Gold held steady after reaching a record high on Wednesday amid concerns over supply tightness. US oil edged higher after falling over 2% on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia raised its flagship crude price for Asia due to increasing premiums for Middle Eastern crude and improving refinery margins.

Key Events

* Eurozone retail sales data (Thursday)
* UK interest rate decision (Thursday)
* Amazon earnings (Thursday)
* US nonfarm payrolls data (Friday)

Market Movements

Stocks:

* S&P 500 futures: Up 0.1%
* Nasdaq 100 futures: Little change
* Topix (Japan): Up 0.2%
* S&P/ASX 200 (Australia): Up 1.1%
* Hang Seng (Hong Kong): Up 0.1%
* Shanghai Composite: Up 0.5%

Currencies:

* Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index: Little change
* Euro: Down 0.1% to $1.0392
* Japanese Yen: Up 0.2% to 152.26 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies:

* Bitcoin: Up 0.4% to $97,353.68
* Ether: Up 0.9% to $2,811.52

Bonds:

* 10-year Treasury yield: Little change at 4.42%
* 10-year Australian yield: Down 5 basis points to 4.31%