SHANGHAI, CHINA – JUNE 8: Aerial view of skyscrapers in Lujiazui financial district at sunrise on June 8, 2022 in Shanghai, China.
Video Visual China Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Wednesday, with Wall Street gaining on expectations that the US Federal Reserve could cut its benchmark interest rate in December.
Expectations rose after Bloomberg reported that Kevin Hassett, head of the White House National Economic Council, was being considered as a top candidate to become the next Federal Reserve chairman. Investors see Hassett as the person likely to push the central bank toward a lower interest rate environment favored by President Donald Trump.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that it is “very likely” that President Trump will name a new Fed chair before Christmas.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the market has priced in a more than 84% chance that the Fed will cut interest rates in December. New York Fed President Williams also said Friday that there is room for rate cuts “in the short term.”
Japanese benchmark Nikkei Stock Average The TOPIX index also rose 0.9%. Japanese tech stocks rise for second day in a row, along with semiconductor testing equipment suppliers Advantest 2.5% increase; Tokyo Electron It traded 0.61% higher. Lasertec and semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics rose more than 2% and 1%, respectively. Investment company specializing in technology Softbank Group It rose by 2.5%.
Korean Kospi rose 0.67%, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.64%.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 index was trading 1.2% higher.
hong kong futures Hang Seng Index The index opened higher trading at 25,977 as against the previous close of 25,894.55.
Overnight, major US indexes closed higher after a volatile session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 664.18 points (1.43%) to close at 47,112.45. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.91% to close at 6,765.88, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.67% to close at 23,025.59. This marks a recovery from the losses seen earlier in the day.
At the session’s lows, the S&P 500 was down about 0.7%, while the Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq were down more than 100 points, 0.2% and 1%, respectively.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
