Asian stocks climb as strong earnings buoy Wall Street
SPY•Asian stocks rose after Wall Street gains, with MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index up 1.5% and South Korea’s KOSPI up 4%. Brent crude rose 1.1% to $110.03 a barrel.
1. Asian shares advance
Asian stocks rose at the start of trading on Wednesday as early corporate earnings pointed to strong profits and supported investor confidence. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5%, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 4%, and Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.3%. The S&P 500 had gained 0.3% overnight; of the index’s companies that had reported, 86% beat earnings estimates.
2. Oil and bonds move higher
Brent crude rose 1.1% to $110.03 a barrel as traders weighed diplomatic talks against continued attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf. The French-German 10-year yield spread edged up to 153.1 basis points, while the US 10-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 5.123%.
3. Rate decisions in focus
A poll of economists found most expect the Bank of Japan to hold rates on October 30 and raise them by 25 basis points in December. Economists also expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates at its October 28 meeting before raising them in December; futures put the probability of an October hold at 83%.
