Asian markets opened lower on Thursday. Minutes of the Fed Reserve's recent meeting offered reassurance in terms of the central bank's commitment to policy options despite US stimulus, lifting Wall Street slightly higher.
Oil prices fell on Thursday after official figures showed a big increase in US gasoline stocks, causing concerns about demand for crude weakening in the world's biggest consumer of the resource at a time when supplies around the world are rising. Brent crude eased 36 cents, or 0.6%, to $62.80 a barrel by 01:36 GMT. US oil fell 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $59.39 a barrel. (Reuters)
Indian markets on Thursday likely to open marginally higher tracking gains in SGX Nifty and global equities. At 7.40am, SGX Nifty was trading at 14,911, up 0.21%. On Wednesday both benchmark Sensex and Nifty gained 1% each after better than expected policy by Reserve Bank Of India. (Read here)
Gold prices slipped on Thursday as investors turned to riskier assets after the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes indicated continued policy support and cemented hopes of a quick economic turnaround. Spot gold inched down 0.03% to $1,736.76 per ounce at 01:49 GMT. US Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,736.50 per ounce. (Reuters) -
Federal Reserve officials remain wary about the ongoing risks of the coronavirus pandemic and are committed to bolstering the economy until its recovery is more secure, minutes of the U.S. central bank’s latest policy meeting showed on Wednesday.
With their own forecasts projecting the strongest run of U.S. economic growth in nearly 40 years, "participants agreed that the economy remained far from the (Fed’s) longer-run goals and that the path ahead remained highly uncertain," the minutes from the March 16-17 meeting said. (Reuters)
Most Asian stocks slipped at the open Thursday and US equity futures gained after the S&P 500 inched up to another record, bolstered by the Federal Reserve’s commitment to supportive policy. Falls in Japan and South Korea weighed on MSCI Inc.’s regional share gauge, while Australia rose. Toshiba Corp. rallied further following a buyout proposal. US futures climbed after the S&P 500 advanced amid dwindling volume on US exchanges.
SGX Nifty was at 14,918.20, up 74.00 points or 0.50% at 7:25 am.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% as of 9:27 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%.
Japan’s Topix Index was down 0.8%.
South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.3%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.7%.
The S&P 500 and Dow closed slightly higher, as the Fed's commentary reinforced investor expectations that the central bank plans to maintain its policy support despite massive fiscal spending from the recent government stimulus package. US Federal Reserve officials expressed caution about ongoing risks of the pandemic and reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering the economy given "that the path ahead remained highly uncertain," the minutes from the March 16-17 meeting said.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note moved higher late in the session, yet remained below a 14-month high of 1.776% hit on 30 March.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05% to 33,446.26, the S&P 500 gained 0.15% to 4,079.95 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.07% to 13,688.84.
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