Asian stocks rise, following Wall St, ahead of Federal Reserve conference

The Fed indicated in minutes from its July meeting that it would make future decisions based on hiring, inflation and other data.

Beijing: Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday as traders waited for signs of interest rate plans from this week’s Federal Reserve conference.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul rose. Oil prices edged lower.

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Wall Street’s benchmark S and P 500 index rose on Monday for its first gain in five days as tech stocks rallied.

Traders hope officials at the Fed’s summer Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference say they are finished raising interest rates that are at a two-decade high. But forecasters warn they might say inflation isn’t under control yet.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell “may even mention that further rate hikes cannot be entirely ruled out”, said Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,097.77 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 per cent to 31,776.06. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.6 per cent to 17,724.94.

The Kospi in Seoul added 0.5 per cent to 2,522.08 and Sydney’s S and P-ASX 200 was 0.1 per cent higher at 7,123.50.

Singapore declined while New Zealand and other Southeast Asian markets advanced.

On Wall Street, the S and P 500 rose 0.7 per cent to 4,399.77.

Big Tech stocks lifted the index even though the majority of stocks within it fell. Nvidia jumped 8.5 per cent and Microsoft advanced 1.7 per cent.

Tesla rose 7.3 per cent to recover some of last year week’s 11 per cent loss. Security software maker Palo Alto Networks jumped 14.8 per cent for the biggest gain in the S and P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 per cent to 34,463.69. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.6 per cent to 13,497.59.

Traders hope the Fed will decide upward pressure on prices is easing even though consumer inflation accelerated in July to 3.2 per cent from the previous month’s 3 per cent. That is down from last year’s peak above 9 per cent but more than the Fed’s 2 per cent target.

Economists say squeezing out the last bit of inflation may be the Fed’s hardest challenge.

The Jackson Hole meeting is closely watched because Fed officials have used it to make announce policy changes in the past.

The Fed indicated in minutes from its July meeting that it would make future decisions based on hiring, inflation and other data.

The government is due to release its monthly jobs report and an inflation update next week.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude lost 1 cent to USD 80.11 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, shed 3 cents to USD 84.43 per barrel in London.

The dollar declined to 145.93 yen from Monday’s 146.11 yen. It rose to USD 1.0915 from USD 1.0899.