Asian stocks rise after a strong week on Wall Street

Asian Stock Markets React to Last Week’s Wall Street Close

TOKYO (AP) – Asian stock markets were almost at new highs on Monday, buoyed by a record finish in the US last week. However, European indices displayed a different trend, showing declines in early trading.

The French CAC 40 dipped by 0.1% to 7,844.36, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.6% to 23,504.07. In the UK, the FTSE 100 remained fairly stable, seeing a slight increase of less than 0.1% to 9,225.17. In the US, Dow futures dropped 0.3% to 46,524.00, and S&P 500 futures slipped by 0.2% to 6,707.00.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a significant rise of 1.0%, closing at 45,493.66. This comes as a recovery from a downturn earlier last week, which had been fueled by concerns regarding the Bank of Japan’s asset holdings.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4%, reaching 8,810.90, while the Korean Kospi increased by 0.7% to 3,468.65. Conversely, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.8% to 26,344.14, whereas Shanghai’s composite index saw a slight uptick of 0.2%, finishing at 3,828.58.

The recent rally on Wall Street has raised hopes that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates to stimulate economic growth. The Fed is expected to lower rates for the first time this year on September 17th.

If rate cuts persist, it may provide some relief for the struggling housing sector. Still, heightened expectations are in play; if the Fed’s actions don’t align with traders’ hopes, the market could face a sharp downturn.

Officials from the Federal Reserve have indicated a strong likelihood of more interest rate cuts this year and into next. Last week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell mentioned that the central bank might need to act swiftly as inflation remains stubbornly high amid a cooling job market. There are also concerns that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could further drive up inflation.

“Whenever the market seems to lose momentum, we manage to push it back up,” noted Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Market.

“As traders track daily new highs, our focus will largely be on what Fed officials are saying in their upcoming speeches this week.”

In the energy sector, US crude oil was priced at $63.04 per barrel, an increase of 63 cents. Meanwhile, international benchmark Brent Crude rose 15 cents, reaching $66.83 per barrel.