The global market performance was better with, Asia’s shares rising in thin Boxing Day holiday trade on Thursday. This Asia shares trade market rally was extending a “Santa Rally” with key markets still shut for the holidays. Japan’s Nikkei index was up 0.5% at the break, boosted by a Christmas Eve tech rally on Wall Street and gains for top-selling automaker Toyota.
China’s plans for a massive bond issuances in 2025 also bolstered investor sentiment making Asia’s shares trade high. As the year-end approaches, trading volumes have begun thinning out and the main focus for investors remains that of the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook. Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were closed for a holiday on Thursday.
Stock market update
Since Fed Chair Jerome Powell primed markets for fewer rate cuts next year at the central bank’s last policy meeting of the year, traders are now pricing in just about 35 basis points worth of easing for 2025.
That has in turn lifted U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar, with the greenback’s renewed strength a burden for commodities and gold.
The benchmark 10-year yield was last steady at 4.5967%, having risen above 4.6% for the first time since May 30 earlier in the week. It is up roughly 40 basis points for the month thus far. The two-year yield similarly firmed at 4.3407%.
Global currency update
The dollar saw a near 2-year high against a basket of currencies at 108.15. The dollar was on track for more than 2% monthly gain.
The biggest currency losers were Australian and New Zealand dollars against a dominant greenback on Thursday. The Australian dollar had fallen 0.45% to $0.6241 and the New Zealand dollar slid 0.51% to $0.5650.
The euro eased 0.18% to $1.0398. The yen was at a five-month low at 157.45 per dollar.
Global stock market performance
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.04% and was headed for a weekly rise of nearly 2%, taking a cue from its counterparts on Wall Street earlier in the week. The S&P 500 futures edged 0.02% higher, while Nasdaq futures advanced 0.13%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.04%.
World stocks looked set to end the year on a high with a second consecutive annual gain of more than 17%, unfazed by escalating geopolitical tensions and various economic and political headwinds globally.
Markets had been closed across Europe and North America for Christmas. Dow Jones closed up 0.9% on the eve, while the tech-heavy S&P 500 rallied 1.1%.
That is mostly thanks to a second year of huge gains for shares on Wall Street as artificial intelligence fever and robust economic growth sucked more global capital into U.S. assets.
Japan’s Nikkei jumped 0.38% and was on track to end the year with a more than 17% gain.
China’s CSI300 blue-chip index fell 0.26% while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.22%, though both were headed for yearly gains of more than 10% each, helped by a step-up in support from Chinese authorities in recent months to shore up an ailing economy.
Elsewhere, bitcoin last traded 0.5% higher at $98,967, having fallen from a record high above $100,000 on the back of the Fed’s hawkish repricing.
Other market update
Brent crude futures rose 0.18% to $73.71 a barrel in commodities. The U.S. crude gained 0.21% to $70.25 per barrel.
Spot gold inched 0.5% higher to $2,626.36 an ounce.
