Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down -0.34%, Shanghai Composite down -0.28%, Hang Seng up 0.52% ASX down -0.01%
- Commodities : Gold at $4,118.95 (0.04%), Silver at $50.925 (0.36%), Brent Oil at $64.93 (-0.35%), WTI Oil at $60.81 (-0.38%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.079, UK 10-year yield at 4.3880, Germany 10-year yield at 2.6574
News & Data:
- (GBP) Claimant Count Change 29.0K to 17.6K expected
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid optimism that the record 42-day U.S. government shutdown may soon end and growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The Senate’s approval of a bill to end the shutdown lifted investor sentiment, as traders shifted focus to upcoming U.S. economic data for clarity on the Fed’s policy path. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool indicates a 67.6% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the December 9–10 meeting.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.22% at 8,838.10, supported by gains in mining and energy stocks. Mineral Resources surged over 9% after selling a 30% stake in its lithium business to South Korea’s POSCO. BHP and Rio Tinto also gained over 1%. In contrast, tech stocks like Xero and Zip declined nearly 2%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.17% to 50,927.29, with gains in automakers and financials offsetting losses in tech shares. SoftBank tumbled nearly 6% after selling its $5.8 billion Nvidia stake to refocus on OpenAI investments.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore are up between 0.2% and 1.1%. On Wall Street, the Dow gained 1.18%, the S&P 500 rose 0.21%, while the NASDAQ slipped 0.25%.
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