Thursday, 2 May 2024 07:46 WIB | MARKET UPDATE |
Asian stocks got off to a shaky start on Thursday after the Federal Reserve flagged delays to interest rate cuts, while the dollar fell heavily on the yen in what traders reckoned was Japanese intervention.
Oil fell sharply overnight as the prospect of cuts seemed more distant and after a surprise jump in U.S. stockpiles, with Brent crude futures hitting a seven-week low of $83.44.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.7% at the open and South Korean shares lost 0.5%. Australian shares were flat. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% after the cash index had closed 0.3% lower overnight.
The dollar’s value fell by almost five yen in 40 minutes of late New York trade to touch 153 yen. It was last at 155.63 yen, having traded around 157.5 before the sudden dive.
The move follows sharp yen gains on Monday which Japanese money market data suggested may have been intervention to the tune of some $35 billion in dollar selling.
After pricing in as many as six rate cuts for 2024 earlier this year, markets now price only one, in December.
Early in the Asia session the Australian dollar was 0.1% higher at $0.6513.
The euro was steady at $1.0715.
Source : Reuters