Asian equities were mixed despite a rebound on Wall Street as most indexes gave up early gains
US stocks rose on Thursday to rebound after the indexes saw their worst daily sell-off since October. The S&P 500 jumped about 1%, the Dow Jones rose 0.9%, while the teach-heavy Nasdaq Composite added more than 1.2%. On the data front, the final reading of GDP for the third quarter showed the US economy grew 4.9%, below the consensus estimate of 5.2%, while initial jobless claims rose slightly to 205,000 last week. Fresh signs of a cooling US economy added to expectations for a March rate cut by the Fed, fueling a solid rebound in stocks.
In Asia, equities were mixed on Friday despite a rebound on Wall Street as most indexes gave up early gains to finish in negative territory. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged just 0.3% higher after the data showed that Japan’s core inflation rate fell to 2.5% in November from 2.9% a month earlier. The index was up 0.7% this week and stayed close to a 33-year high. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.1% to 7,510.90. The Kospi in Seoul gave up early gains to finish 0.02% lower. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gave up 1.58% and the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.13%.
Meanwhile, the US dollar has steadied after yesterday’s slide to fresh August lows during the previous session. The USD index dipped to 101.75 and keeps clinging to the lower end of the extended trading range, struggling to attract demand at multi-month lows. As such, the greenback stays below the 102.00 figure that represents the immediate upside target at this stage. Next, traders will shift focus to the PCE report due later in the day. Should the figures come in lower than expected, the dollar may see fresh losses ahead of the weekend.
Elsewhere, gold prices keep trending mostly higher these days, staying above the ascending 20-DMA that continues to act as a key short-term support. Earlier today, the XAUUSD pair extended gains towards the $2,055 zone for the first time in more than two weeks. After peaking, the bullion retreated to settle around the flat-line, with the $2,050 zone in focus. Should the dollar resume the decline in the near term, the precious metal may target fresh local highs. If the $2,055 area gives up, the $2,075 zone will come into the market focus. On the downside, the nearest support now arrives around $2,027 where the mentioned SMA lies.