Asian markets rose in early trading Thursday, following record closing highs for U.S. stocks in a shortened trading day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.67% rose 179.32 points, or 0.7%, at 26,966, it’s first record close since Oct. 3, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.77% set its third-straight record close, rising 22.81 points, or 0.8% to 2,995.82. The Nasdaq Composite index COMP, +0.75% ended the day at an all-time high of 8,170.23, adding 61.14 points , or 0.8%. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Independence Day.
Investors cheered signs that global monetary policy will become more stimulative in the months ahead, after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde was nominated to replace Mario Draghi as the head of the European Central Bank. Also, President Donald Trump said he would nominate Christopher Waller, the research director at the St. Louis Fed, and Judy Shelton, the U.S. executive director for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, for influential posts on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Shelton has backed interest-rate cuts, and Waller is an easy-money advocate.
On the trade-war front, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Wednesday that high-level U.S. and Chinese negotiators would talk on the phone next week to set up a new round of face-to-face meetings.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.29% rose 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.30% gained 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.04% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.02% hovered about flat. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, -0.20% fell 0.2%. Benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.21% and Singapore STI, +0.27% gained slightly, while Indonesian stocks JAKIDX, +0.08% were about flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.53% rose 0.6%.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank 9984, +3.25% gained in Tokyo trading, as did Inpex 1605, +1.21% , while Fast Retailing 9983, -1.03% declined. In Hong Kong, Sino Biopharmaceutical 1177, +4.15% and Galaxy Entertainment 27, +1.53% rose, while AAC 2018, -1.92% and Sunny Optical 2382, -1.11% fell. Samsung 005930, +0.55% inched up in South Korea, as did Taiwan Semiconductor 2330, +0.62% in Taiwan. Westpac WBC, +1.25% and National Australia Bank NAB, +1.09% gained in Australia.
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