Asian Markets Surge Following US Jobs Report
On Thursday, Asia shares predominantly rose, with benchmarks in Japan and South Korea achieving new records, following a period of volatility on US Market after a better-than-expected US job report. US futures experienced a slight increase. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 exceeded the 58,000 threshold early in the session as trading resumed following a holiday. However, it relinquished those gains, slipping just 10 points lower to 57,639.84. Japanese shares have surged in response to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday, as investors anticipate additional policies aimed at stimulating economic growth. South Korea’s Kospi has surpassed the 5,500 mark for the first time, propelled by advancements in technology-related stocks. The figure rose by 3.1 percent, reaching 5,522.27. Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest publicly traded company, experienced a 6.4 percent increase. Chipmaker SK Hynix experienced an increase of 3.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined by 0.9 percent, settling at 27,028.67. The Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.1 per cent, reaching 4,140.59. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.3 per cent, reaching 9,043.50.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 remained unchanged after briefly approaching an all-time high, ultimately closing 0.34 points lower, at 6,941.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 0.1 percent, closing at 50,121.40. The Nasdaq composite fell by 0.2 percent, closing at 23,066.47. A report indicated that US employers increased their payrolls by 130,000 jobs in January, significantly surpassing economists’ predictions. The blockbuster US non-farm payrolls report “strengthens the case for higher US Treasury yields and a rebound in the dollar over the coming months,” noted Jonas Goltermann. The latest job report indicates that the US labour market is stabilising, he stated, so the likelihood of another Fed rate cut in the coming months is “quite low.” In the US stock market, Robinhood Markets, the trading and investment app, experienced a decline of 8.8 per cent as investors turned their attention to a slowdown in crypto trading that has impacted the company. In recent days, Bitcoin’s price has declined to approximately 50% of its record high established in October.
Moderna experienced a decline of 3.5 percent following the US Food and Drug Administration’s decision to not review its application for a new flu vaccine. Kraft Heinz experienced a 0.4 per cent increase, as the company announced it would be pausing its plans to separate into two distinct businesses. Shares of companies in the raw-material and energy sectors experienced notable increases. Exxon Mobil experienced an increase of 2.6 per cent, whereas Smurfit Westrock saw a significant surge of 9.9 per cent.
In other dealings early Thursday, US benchmark crude oil increased by 15 cents to USD 64.78 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased by 13 cents to USD 69.53 per barrel. On Thursday, gold and silver prices experienced a decline. The price of gold decreased by 0.4 percent to 5,080 per ounce, while the price of silver declined by 1.2 percent to approximately USD 83 an ounce. The US dollar decreased to 152.94 Japanese yen, down from 153.27 yen. The euro remained steady at USD 1.1873.
