Asian Stocks Will Close at Their Highest Level in a Month – Asia Market Wrap

Asian stocks rallied after US and global equity indexes set new highs, encouraged by this week’s Fed rate cut and bullish assessment of the US economy.

MSCI’s Asian share index rose 0.9% on Friday, on track for its best finish since November 14th. Japan’s Topix led regional gains and approached an all-time high, with financials benefiting from speculations that a BoJ interest rate hike next week is almost probable. Chinese mainland shares fell after the country’s leadership indicated that it will continue to provide economic support but will not increase stimulus next year.

While the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to an all-time high on Thursday, some investors remained cautious about technology stocks. Broadcom, a semiconductor firm competing with Nvidia for AI computing revenue, saw its shares fall in late trading as its sales forecast for a hot market fell short of investors’ expectations. S&P 500 futures were unchanged on Friday, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 0.2%.

The MSCI All Country World Index, one of the broadest indicators of the stock market, rose 0.1% on Friday after closing at a record the previous session. It is expected to grow by about 21% in 2025, marking its greatest year since 2019. Meanwhile, the Asian gauge is less than 2% from its all-time high set in late October.

In commodities, copper remained stable after reaching a new record high on Thursday, while most other industrial metals climbed in response to the Fed announcement. Gold moved lower after three days of gains, buoyed by the potential of additional monetary easing in the US, while silver traded at a record high. Oil rebounded from its lowest closing in nearly two months, while Bitcoin fluctuated in a narrow range around $92,500.