Asian stocks inch higher as rate-cut bets persist, Nikkei extends rally
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose past early weakness on Monday as traders maintained bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates early, with Japanese markets extending a rally to 34-year highs.
But bigger gains were held back by anticipation of more key economic cues this week, including Chinese gross domestic product data and and Japanese inflation. Beijing’s reaction to the Taiwan presidential election also kept traders on edge.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the best performer among its peers for a fourth straight session, rising 1.1% to a new 34-year high as the prospect of an ultra-dovish Bank of Japan kept traders heavily biased towards local stocks.
Japanese consumer price index (CPI) data due later this week is expected to show a sustained decline in inflation, setting a dovish tone for the BOJ when it meets later in January.
The Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.5% after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate William Lai won the Presidential election over the weekend- largely maintaining the status quo for the island in its resistance towards reunification with China.
Lai, along with the DPP, has constantly reiterated Taiwan’s independence- which has been a key point of ire for Beijing. The Chinese government maintained its calls for reunification over the weekend, and any more action from Beijing will be in close focus ahead of Lai’s official inauguration in May.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.1%, with losses in heavyweight tech stocks limiting gains. Search engine giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) (HK:9888) slid as much as 10% after a report linked its Ernie artificial intelligence bot to the Chinese
Read more on investing.com
