As S&P 500 rallies into US PCE, Asian Stocks Rise – Asia Market Wrap

Ahead of the Fed’s favoured inflation indicator being released on Friday, Asian equities rose, trailing gains in US stocks.

The benchmark Topix index for Japan reached a 34-year high. Chinese, South Korean, and Australian stocks increased. The actions come after an adverse day the previous session, when a measure of the region’s stocks experienced its first decline in three days. US equity contracts saw an increase.

Late on Thursday in the US, President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump squared off in their first debate of 2024. Though they all reduced or eliminated the gains over the duration of the debate, the Dollar and Bitcoin increased as the discussion got underway, and the yen dropped past 161 to the Dollar, its lowest levels since 1986.

As the Fed is expected to lower interest rates this year in order to avert a more severe economic slowdown, the US Treasury market declined, erasing gains from the previous session. This was reinforced by weak US economic statistics.