Asian stocks gain after US core inflation cools
US core inflation kept alive the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
Benchmarks in Australia, Japan and South Korea all notched gains. The S&P 500 closed Wednesday 1.8% higher, the benchmark’s best day since the November election, which erased its 2025 decline. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 2.3%.
Treasuries were little changed on Thursday after a rally in the previous session pushed 10-year yields 14 basis points lower. An index of the dollar slipped. The yen edged higher after climbing 0.9% against the greenback on Wednesday, its strongest showing since November. Australian and New Zealand bond yields fell in early trading.
The moves centered upon US core consumer price index data for December that rose less than forecast, reinvigorating bets the Fed will cut rates sooner than previously thought. Swap traders are back to fully pricing in a rate cut by July — a quick shift after Friday’s hot jobs data spurred bets officials would only be able to resume policy easing in September or October.
“We’re in a goldilocks scenarios where growth is holding up,” Suresh Tantia, a strategist for UBS Wealth Management, said on Bloomberg Television. “We do expect the earnings of tech companies in Asia to rise substantially this year, especially in the AI space.”
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