Asia stages biggest stock rally in month

Asian stocks staged their biggest rally in a month on Thursday, with regional markets looking to recover from recent losses, as reported by Reuters.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped one per cent, led by gains in South Korea and Hong Kong of 2 per cent and one per cent, respectively.

However, most markets remain down for the week and month so far. Japan’s Nikkei managed a modest rise of 0.3 per cent, but is on track for its biggest weekly fall since 2022.

The surge came as the US dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied, offering investors a chance to reassess the outlook for interest rates.

Oil prices found some support after Wednesday’s steep decline, fuelled by concerns over demand and the lack of a strong response from Israel or the US to Iran’s weekend attack.

Analysts downplayed the possibility of significant new sanctions on Iranian oil, which accounts for a relatively small portion of global output.

US stock futures pointed towards a positive open, with S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 futures, and FTSE futures up slightly, by 0.4 per cent, 0.5 per cent, and 0.3 per cent, respectively.

European markets were expected to see a flat start.

The US dollar weakened from recent highs. News of a trilateral agreement between the US, Japan, and Korea on foreign exchange cooperation raised the possibility of intervention to curb further dollar gains in Asia.

US Treasury yields dipped after a sell-off in longer-dated bonds eased. Asian bond markets also rallied, with Japanese government bond yields falling.