Stock market today: Asian shares gain after US Fed cuts interest rates

HONG KONG -- Asian shares precocious Friday aft astir U.S. stocks roseate arsenic nan Federal Reserve trim liking rates again to easiness unit connected nan economy.

Oil prices fell while U.S. futures edged higher.

Regional investors were watching for much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up nan slowing Chinese system arsenic nan apical assemblage of nan nationalist legislature wrapped up a gathering this week.

“If Beijing delivers, we mightiness spot a powerful rally ripple done nan region arsenic investors cogwheel up for a caller surge successful marketplace momentum,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said successful a commentary.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 21,055.62, and nan Shanghai Composite scale was up 0.7% to 3,495.38.

Japan's Nikkei 225 scale gained 0.3% to 39,476.64.

Shares successful Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. plummeted astir early Friday, aft nan institution connected Thursday announced that it will disregard 9,000 workers and slash its world accumulation capacity by 20% owed to falling income and rising costs and inventory.

In South Korea, nan Kospi surged 0.7% to 2,581.50, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9%, to 8,302.10.

On Thursday, nan S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 5,973.10, adding to its surge from nan time earlier pursuing Donald Trump’s statesmanlike victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged astatine 43,729.34, while nan Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5% to 19,269.46.

The Fed’s announcement that it was easing its main liking complaint by a 4th of a percent constituent caused fewer ripples successful nan marketplace because moreover nan precise size of it was truthful good anticipated by investors.

The cardinal slope began easing rates successful September and indicated much cuts were apt to come, arsenic it focuses much connected keeping the occupation marketplace humming aft helping get inflation astir down to its 2% target. What’s little definite successful nan minds of investors now is really overmuch Trump’s triumph whitethorn upset nan Fed’s plans.

Trump is pushing for tariffs and different policies that economists opportunity could thrust ostentation higher, on pinch nan economy’s growth. Traders person already begun paring forecasts for really galore cuts to rates nan Fed will present adjacent twelvemonth because of that. While little rates tin boost nan economy, they tin besides springiness ostentation much fuel.

For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, thing is changing. “In nan adjacent term, nan predetermination will person nary effects” connected interest-rate policy, he said.

At this point, Powell said it’s still not clear what nan policies will beryllium aft Trump returns to nan White House.

“We don’t guess, we don’t estimate and we don’t assume,” he said.

JPMorgan Chase fell 4.3%, a time aft banks decisively led nan marketplace connected expectations that a stronger system and lighter regularisation would mean fatter profits. It and Goldman Sachs were nan biggest reasons for nan Dow Jones Industrial Average's flimsy loss.

Smaller U.S. stocks besides lagged nan market, pinch nan Russell 2000 scale down 0.4%. A time before, it much than doubled nan S&P 500’s summation connected expectations that Trump’s America-First priorities would astir use smaller, much domestically focused companies.

The banal that’s go astir synonymous pinch nan president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, fell 23%.

The output connected nan 10-year Treasury enslaved eased to 4.33% from 4.44% precocious Wednesday.

A study connected Thursday showed somewhat much U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits, though nan number remains comparatively low. A abstracted study suggested U.S. workers improved their productivity during nan summer, which tin thief support a lid connected inflation, but not by rather arsenic overmuch arsenic economists expected.

In different dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude lipid mislaid 33 cents to $72.03 per tube successful physics trading connected nan New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, nan world standard, gave up 30 cents, to $75.33 per barrel.

The dollar roseate to 153.00 Japanese yen from 152.94 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0788 from $1.0804.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.