Nikada
Asia-Pacific stock markets rose on Thursday, tracking an overnight rise on Wall Street, as investors digested economic activity data from Australia, Japan and India.
Japan (NKY:IND), +0.67% . The Nikkei stock average surged on Thursday, hitting a three-week high, while the Japanese yen was trading around 145 yen to the dollar.
Domestically, investors reacted to data showing Japan's private sector growth hit a 15-month high in August on strong services activity, while manufacturing activity contracted more than expected.
China (SHCOMP), -0.32%: The Shanghai Composite Index fell on Thursday, its third straight session of declines, as persistent economic worries in China and a lack of strong stimulus measures dampened investor sentiment.
Hong Kong (HSI), +0.59%: Hong Kong's stock market rose in morning trading Thursday after a sharp drop the previous day, buoyed by gains in financial and technology stocks.
India (SENSEX), +0.23%. The BSE Sensex rose in morning trade on Thursday, hitting a three-week high and extending gains to the sixth consecutive trading day.
India's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace while services sector growth remained strong in August, the latest data showed.
Australia (AS51), +0.24%: The S&P/ASX 200 index rose on Thursday, its 10th consecutive session of gains, as strong business activity data from Australia boosted market sentiment.
The country's private sector activity returned to expansion in August as growth in the services sector accelerated and weakness in manufacturing eased, the data showed.
The Judau Bank Australia Manufacturing PMI rose slightly to 48.7 in August from 47.5 in July. The Judau Bank Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 52.2 in August from 50.4 in July.
In the United States, all three major stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed some members suggested they would cut interest rates again next month as long as inflation continues to slow.
Minutes from the latest Fed meeting revealed that a “majority” of members agreed that “if data continue to be released as expected, it will likely be appropriate to ease policy at our next meeting.”
U.S. stock futures were steady on Thursday as investors turned their attention to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at a symposium in Jackson Hole later this week, where he will hint at the prospect of interest rate cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down -0.05%, the S&P 500 down -0.09% and the Nasdaq down -0.08%.
Currency: (JPY:USD), (CNY:USD), (AUD:USD), (INR:USD), (HKD:USD), (NZD:USD).
