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Contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose alongside those for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, after the two US benchmarks advanced on Wednesday. Equity indexes in Australia, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong all traded higher.
Gains for Hong Kong shares snapped a four-day run of declines as JD.com Inc., Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd rose. Mainland China shares fluctuated.
The dollar fell against all G-10 currencies while the yen strengthened. The Australian dollar edged higher despite a surprise rise in the jobless rate that pared an advance in the country’s bond yields. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields were moderately lower after increasing six basis points on Wednesday.
Gains for US stocks on Wednesday came after the release of robust economic data that will likely compel a hawkish Fed response. US retail sales in January jumped by the most in almost two years and homebuilder sentiment rose in February by the most since mid-2020.
The data follow a hotter-than-expected inflation print on Tuesday and come ahead of US employment data to be released Thursday that are expected to show an uptick in jobless claims.
The market “is telling us maybe we can keep going as long as inflation is coming down overall and growth is solid,” Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The rally in risk assets helped propel some of the most speculative corners of the market. A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. benchmark of non-profitable tech companies rose 4,4 percent and is up almost 30 percent this year. Bitcoin rose further after jumping 8,7 percent Wednesday, the most in three months, to reach the highest level since August.
“Everybody is trying to figure out whether this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime soft landing or if it’s just taking longer before we get a panic recession,” Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, said in an interview. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot of divergence between bulls and bears.”
Oil futures climbed following a Wednesday decline after EIA reported that crude inventories rose over 16 million barrels last week.
In corporate news, Adani Group is in talks with potential investors about a bond offering, according to people familiar with the matter. Standard Chartered Plc announced a US$1 billion share buyback after missing fourth-quarter profit estimates, and Cisco Systems Inc. shares rose after it gave an upbeat revenue prediction. – Bloomberg
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