Friday 31st January 2025: Asian Markets Rise Amid Wall Street Gains

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.53%, Shanghai Composite down 0.06%, Hang Seng up 0.14% ASX up 0.45%
• Commodities : Gold at $2847.35 (0.13%), Silver at $32.65 (0.68%), Brent Oil at $76.49 (0.59%), WTI Oil at $73.34 (0.83%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.545, UK 10-year yield at 4.5590, Germany 10-year yield at 2.517

News & Data:

• (EUR) Man Refinancing  Rate  2.90% vs 2.90% expected
• (USD) Unemployment Claims  207K to 224K expected

Markets Update:

Asian markets mostly rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s gains as investors analyzed Big Tech earnings. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.24%, while the Topix index climbed 0.21%. Tokyo’s core consumer price index rose 2.5% year-over-year in January, in line with expectations. Japan’s unemployment rate dipped to 2.4% in December but missed estimates, while retail sales grew 3.7%. Industrial output increased 0.3%, rebounding from a 2.2% decline in the previous month.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.14% after a four-day break, while the Kosdaq slipped 0.36%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.45%, closing at a record high of 8,532.30, marking its third straight day of gains. The country’s producer price index rose 3.7% in the December 2024 quarter, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Indian markets moved higher ahead of the Union Budget, with the Nifty 50 rising 0.71% and the BSE Sensex up 0.58%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

In the U.S., all three major indexes advanced. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 168.61 points (0.38%) to close at 44,882.13, after briefly gaining nearly 300 points. The S&P 500 rose 0.53% to 6,071.17, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.25% to finish at 19,681.75. Investors reacted positively to earnings reports but remained cautious about potential economic headwinds.

Stocks trimmed gains late in the session following an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who signaled plans to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The news introduced fresh uncertainty into the markets, dampening the earlier rally.

Upcoming Events: 

• 01:30 PM GMT – CAD GDP m/m
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Core PCE Price Index m/m
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Employment Cost Index q/q

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