Asian stocks advanced after a gauge of global equities touched a record high Thursday on calming geopolitical concerns and increased expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. Equities in Japan, South Korea and Australia all rose Friday after the S&P 500 advanced 0.8% to within striking distance of a new high. The Nasdaq 100 achieved the feat after rising 0.9% on Thursday, helping MSCI's global shares index to a record high. US stock futures edged higher Friday. We get market insights from Rebecca Walser, President at Walser Wealth Management.Plus - Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the US and China have finalized a trade understanding reached last month in Geneva. The China deal, which Lutnick said had been signed two days ago, codifies the terms laid out in trade talks between Beijing and Washington, including a commitment from China to deliver rare earths used in everything from wind turbines to jet planes. Lutnick speaks with Bloomberg Balance of Power hosts, Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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18:00
Nvidia, Nasdaq 100 Hit New All-Time Highs
The US stock rally lost some steam Wednesday with the S&P 500 Index ending the day flat after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that officials are struggling to determine the toll of tariffs on inflation. The benchmark closed the session unchanged in New York after swinging between small gains and losses, while the technology heavy Nasdaq 100 Index edged up 0.2% to log another all-time closing high. The tech benchmark reached the milestone Tuesday for the first time since February as a combination of robust fundamentals and easing geopolitical tensions boosted the appeal of the growth-focused gauge. In individual stock moves, Nvidia shares closed at an all-time high, with the leader in artificial intelligence chips extending an advance that has cemented its position as one of the most valuable companies in the world. We get reaction to the day's price action from Katy Kaminski, Chief Research Strategist at AlphaSimplex.Plus - Hong Kong's de facto central bank bought the local dollar to prop it up on Thursday, in a move to defend the city's currency peg to the greenback. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority purchased HK$9.42 billion ($1.2 billion) of local currency against the US dollar, after the exchange rate touched the weak end of the permitted 7.75-7.85 per greenback trading band. In addition to pushing the currency back into its permitted trading range, the move will also make bearish bets more costly. It does this by draining liquidity from the financial system and driving up borrowing costs. We get reaction from Garfield Reynolds, Bloomberg's MLIV Asia Team Lead. He speaks with Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Avril Hong.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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15:56
Cautious Open as Israel-Iran Ceasefire Appears to Hold
Stocks in Asia opened on a cautious note as the Israel-Iran truce appeared to hold and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave balanced comments on prospects for rate cuts. Late Tuesday in the States, President Donald Trump appeared to undermine years of US sanctions on Iran, giving its biggest customer China the green light to carry on buying its oil as he seeks to bolster a ceasefire with Israel. We discuss Beijing's role in what now appears to be a subdued conflict with Jenni Marsh, Greater China Eco-Gov Team Leader for Bloomberg News. Plus - Treasury yields and a gauge of the dollar steadied. The benchmark 10-year yield shed five basis points in the previous session as Fed Chair Powell said "many paths are possible" for monetary policy. We look at the US central bank's path ahead with JoAnne Bianco, Partner and Senior Investment Strategist at BondBloxx Investment Management.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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16:59
Oil Slides, Stocks Gain as Israel-Iran Ceasefire Remains in Flux
President Donald Trump announced Israel and Iran had agreed to what he called a “complete and total” ceasefire, easing fears that a conflict between the two adversaries might escalate. Trump, who made the surprise announcement on his Truth Social platform days after ordering airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, said the accord would begin around midnight US time and is aimed at a lasting end to the fighting. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a tweet afterward that while there is no ceasefire agreement, his country had no intention to keep responding to Israeli attacks after 4:00 a.m. Tehran time. We break down the headlines with Joe Mathieu, co-host of Bloomberg Radio and Television’s Balance of Power. Oil slumped and stocks rallied after Trump announced the ceasefire, spurring optimism the worst of the Middle East conflict is over. Global benchmark Brent crude tumbled almost 5% in early Asian trading after the surprise comment. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, while key stock indexes advanced in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. The news damped demand for haven assets with the dollar weakening against all its Group-of-10 peers and gold dropping. Bloomberg’s Jill Disis speaks with our TV colleagues, Yvonne Man and David Ingles, in Hong Kong. Plus - we look at how all the day’s news may play into the Federal Reserve’s inflation outlook. We get market insights from Ross Mayfield, Investment Strategist at Baird.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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19:53
World Braces for Iran's Response After US Strikes
Oil surged after the US struck Iran's three main nuclear sites and threatened further attacks, exacerbating a crisis in the Middle East and stoking concerns that energy supplies from the region could be disrupted. The US assault — which targeted sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — dramatically raises the stakes in the confrontation by increasing the premium that traders are pricing into the global energy market. The extent of the gains will hinge on how Tehran opts to respond to the US moves. For more on the burgeoning conflict, we hear from former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. He speaks with Bloomberg's Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz. Plus - US stock index futures slid ahead of the Asia session following those weekend strikes in Iran. S&P 500 futures opened nearly 1% lower before paring their loss, while contracts on the Nasdaq 100 fell nearly 1.3%. We get market insights from Gene Goldman, Chief Investment Officer at Cetera Financial Group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Join Bloomberg Daybreak Asia for business and finance news centered in the Asia-Pacific region, along with insight and analysis on the day's top stories in global markets.
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