US President Donald Trump’s Asia visit, which has been marked by flowering tributes to major economies like Japan and China, sent the stock soaring in this part of the world on Wednesday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged more than 2 per cent to hit another record, trading at 51,410.40.
Trump has been on a five-day Asia tour that ends on Thursday. His upbeat comments on relations with major economies like Japan and China have helped fuel rallies, while US stocks have pushed further into record heights on the basis of Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks.
After scoring USD 490 billion in investment commitments in Japan, Trump met with South Korea’s leader on Wednesday, though it’s unclear if a trade deal with the country would be finalised.
Despite that, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2 per cent to 4,058.37.
The Shanghai Composite index was also up 0.5 per cent at 4,006.21. It has been trading near decade highs ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the APEC regional summit in South Korea.
China and the US have been locked in an escalating trade war, with Washington imposing high tariffs and tightened technology controls and China retaliating with curbs on rare earth shipments, one of its key sources of leverage.
The fact that a meeting is planned suggests there is room for some progress in easing tensions, experts say.
Also Read: Wall Street closes at record highs as US inflation cools
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1 per cent to 8,926.20 after the release of higher than expected inflation data, an annual rate of 3.2 per cent, dashed hopes for an interest rate cut anytime soon.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1.2 per cent and India’s Sensex was up 0.3 per cent.
On Tuesday, the US stock market pushed further into record heights.
The S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent to 6,890.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to 47,706.37, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8 per cent to 23,827.49. All three indexes set all-time highs for a third straight day.
Wall Street is waiting for a few events that could shake things up. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates, while some of the stock market's most influential companies will report how much profit they made during the summer.
Investors expect the Fed to announce a rate cut given the slowing job market. It would be the second time this year that it's lowered the federal funds rate in hopes of helping the job market.
United Parcel Service rallied 8 per cent Tuesday after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
PayPal climbed 3.9 per cent after saying it made a bigger profit during the summer than analysts expected. It also said it plans to pay its shareholders a dividend every three months, while announcing a deal where internet users will be able to pay for purchases through OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Skyworks Solutions climbed 5.8 per cent after saying it would merge with Qorvo in a cash-and-stock deal where Skyworks shareholders will own roughly 63 per cent of the combined company, valued at USD 22 billion. Qorvo's stock rose nearly as much, 5.7 per cent.
Microsoft was one of the strongest forces lifting the market after rising 2 per cent. That sent the company's total value on Wall Street above USD 4 trillion.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Royal Caribbean, which lost 8.5 per cent despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of expectations.
Homebuilder D.R. Horton sank 3.2 per cent after reporting a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected.
Amazon, meanwhile, rose 1 per cent after saying it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs, or about 4 per cent of its corporate workforce, as it ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while cutting costs elsewhere.
In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil inched up 2 cents to USD 60.17 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also rose 2 cents, to USD 63.85 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 152.36 Japanese yen from 152.11 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1631 from USD 1.1651.
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