Source: AFP
Asian markets opened higher on Wednesday, tracking Christmas holiday gains on Wall Street as investors bet on the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as early as March.
Markets in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong were all higher, with markets in the latter two reopening after the Christmas break.
Market sentiment has been largely positive since the Fed’s last meeting, when it indicated that the rate hike cycle could be coming to an end, with inflation starting to slow.
Global markets were also positively impacted by the so-called “Santa Claus rally,” which historically saw stocks rise — albeit in smaller volumes — during the year-end holiday season.
“Since ’69, the S&P has averaged a 1.3 percent gain in the Santa Rally, and with the market up so much this year, on an 8-week winning streak, there aren’t many sellers willing to lock in taxable profits to avoid a weak possibility of a correction,” investor Louis Navellier said in a note.
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![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/32195723611c60ad.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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However, the main focus for investors will remain US interest rates, whose rate hike cycle has driven market activity since it began last year.
“Bet on a Fed cut in March continue to rise, helping to lift stocks,” Navellier said.
“Interest rates are essentially flat and the US dollar index continues to decline.”
On Tuesday, Wall Street stocks continued their positive momentum, with the Dow and the broad-based S&P 500 rising 0.4 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent.
But it resisted the uptrend in Apple, whose share price fell 0.3 percent after a U.S. ban on some of its smartwatch models took effect, a byproduct of a patent dispute.
The ban stems from a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission in mid-2021 that accused Apple of infringing on medical device maker Masimo Corp.’s “light-based oximetry functionality.”
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![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/0edd2e213163507c.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
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Currency markets were little changed on Wednesday morning, with the euro and British pound almost unchanged against the dollar.
The yen was also steady at 142.70 yen to the dollar, compared with 142.34 yen in New York.
Keys around 02:30 GMT
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 33,682.86
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 16,454.05
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.25 percent at 2,891.73
Dollar/yen: UP to 142.70 yen from 142.34 yen on Tuesday
EUR/USD: UP 0.12 percent at $1.1030
Pound/dollar: UP 0.17 percent at $1.2721
Euro/pound: UP 0.05 percent to 86.71 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4% to $75.28 a barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2% at $80.88 a barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 37,545.33 (close)
Source: AFP