HONG KONG: Asian stock markets surged on Wednesday (Oct 29) morning, matching record gains on Wall Street the previous day as investor confidence in AI tech and coming interest rate cuts in the United States reaches fever pitch.
The extended bull run comes ahead of a Wednesday afternoon announcement by the US Federal Reserve, which observers expect will unveil a quarter-percentage-point cut to lending rates.
It has also been boosted by growing faith in a deal to avoid a damaging trade war between the world’s top two economies, with US President Donald Trump due to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Trump – who arrived in the country on Wednesday following visits to Malaysia and Japan – has hinted that he is confident in reaching an agreement with Xi.
Those hopes have added to an already jubilant atmosphere on Wall Street, where highlights during Tuesday’s record-breaking day included a 5 per cent leap for artificial intelligence giant Nvidia.
There has been “little sign of concern about holding tech risk into the upcoming Fed meeting, which in theory should be a lower-impact event on markets”, wrote Chris Weston of Pepperstone in a note.
“It’s the tech show, and this is where capital remains firmly centred,” he said.
Japan’s benchmark index leapt by more than 2 per cent on Wednesday morning, while Seoul surged more than 1 per cent – both reaching record highs.
Shares in Taipei and Shanghai tracked moderate gains.
Sydney’s main index was down on Wednesday, while Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.
Source: CNA
