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Asian shares rose on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed that it’s prepared to cut interest rates if needed to shield the US economy from trade conflicts or other threats.
The Thursday tracked modest gains on Wall Street. The 10-year Treasury note slid to 1.98 per cent, its lowest level since November 2016, as investors bet on at least one interest rate cut this year, possibly as early as July.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.7 per cent to 21,478.93 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged 1.0 per cent to 28,486.39. Shanghai was up 2.6 per cent to 2,992.29.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 picked up 0.3 per cent to 6,664.70. India’s Sensex edged 0.1 per cent higher to 39,139.47. Shares were flat in Taiwan and Jakarta and higher elsewhere in Southeast Asia, reports AP.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 2,926.46, within striking range of its all-time high, set on April 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to 26,504.
The Nasdaq composite added 0.4 per cent to 7,987.32, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 0.3 per cent to 1,555.58.
Major stock indexes in Europe finished mixed.
The 10-year Treasury yield has been declining steadily since hitting a high of 3.23 per cent last November. It fell to 1.98 per cent Thursday, down from 2.06 per cent late Tuesday.
Benchmark crude oil added 75 cents to $54.73 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 14 cents to $53.97 a barrel.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, picked up 83 cents to $62.65 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 107.65 Japanese yen from 108.10 yen on Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1267 from $1.1226.