Stock markets: Asia rises as oil prices fall and tech shares rise. Interest rates: focus on the Fed

Markets Asian markets are gaining ground, buoyed by a fall in crude oil prices and signs of a slowdown in the US economy, which are dampening expectations of further Fed rate rises Key points Tech shares drive Tokyo Brent down 0.7% US government bonds fall Fed: rate rise less likely Dollar and gold on the rise Asian stock markets rose, following the lead of US government bonds, thanks to falling oil prices and weaker-than-expected US labour market data, which eased the pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates. The euro continued to fall against the dollar. Tech shares drive Tokyo The MSCI Asia Pacific share index rose by 0.9 per cent, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 2.5 per cent thanks to gains in technology shares. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, a leading chipmaker, rose by 3% on the back of a potential partnership with Terafab, a company owned by Elon Musk. Sentiment towards the technology sector remained positive across the Atlantic too: Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2% after the benchmark index had closed at an all-time high on Friday. Brent down 0.7% Brent crude for December delivery fell by 0.7 per cent to around $101.50 a barrel after Saudi Arabia cut the prices of its benchmark grade for Asia in response to rising supply. US government bonds fall Treasury yields fell slightly across the yield curve; the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond fell by two basis points to 5.25 per cent. Last week, yields on 10-year US government bonds reached their highest level since 2002. Fed: rate rise less likely The fall in oil prices is further bolstering positive sentiment, after Friday’s employment report showed fewer new jobs than forecast; this has led money markets to estimate a probability of less than 25 per cent that the Fed will raise interest rates in October. This respite for the bond market comes after months of heavy losses, fuelled by persistent fears over inflation, public spending and rising corporate debt to fund the development of artificial intelligence. Dollar and gold on the rise Meanwhile, a Bloomberg index tracking the dollar’s performance rose by 0.3 per cent. Gold rose by 0.5% to around $4,160 an ounce, after posting its biggest weekly loss since June, as higher bond yields outweighed bets that the Fed would keep interest rates on hold. Copyright reserved © Newsletter Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari. Iscriviti