Asian Stocks are Higher as Virus Scares Calm
Asian stocks are higher as virus scares calm – Shares rose on Wednesday after another broad rally on Wall Street in Asia. Investors were betting that the new version of the COVID-19 virus would not pose a significant economic threat. Shares rose in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul. They decreased in Hong Kong. The price of oil has fallen. Japan cut its growth estimate from minus 3.0% to 3.6% in the last quarter. The change reflects weak public and consumer demand and low trade and private supply levels.
Economists forecast recovery growth in the current quarter, thanks to a recovery in activity; Because the number of coronavirus cases has decreased. Parliament should approve the proposed $490 billion stimulus package. These include providing cash and assistance to sick businesses to help the economy recover from a downturn caused by a coronavirus pandemic.
The Nikkei 225 index rose to 28,860.62, up 1.4%. The Shanghai Composite Index rose to 3,637.57, up 1.2% overall. Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 23,954.04. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to 7405.40. Kospi rose 0.3% to 3,001.80 in South Korea. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 2.1%. This was his biggest gain since March and ended with 4,686.75. The Nasdaq rose to 15,686.92, a total of 3%. Dow Jones Industrials increased 1.4% to 35,719.43.
Virus Scares and Stocks
Shares of small companies worked better than the stock market. Investors are confident of economic growth. Russell 2000 gained 2.3% and rose to 2.253.79. After two lost weeks in a row, the market has grown. On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House Chief Medical Adviser, mentioned that the coronavirus Omicron variant might be less critical than the delta.
So far, it will take a few more weeks to determine if Omicron is more contagious and causes a more severe illness. Technology stocks accounted for a large share of the profits. Investors focused on the sectors that benefit most from strong economic growth. Apple grew by 3.5%. Microsoft grew by 2.7%. Energy futures have mainly increased. US crude oil price rose to $72.05 a barrel, up 3.7% overall. This helped boost the S&P 500 energy sector, which has already outperformed ten other sectors by 50.7% this year. Oil prices fell on Wednesday. US benchmark oil lost 63 cents to a total of $71.42 a barrel. Brent oil fell to $74.91, up 53 cents.
On Tuesday, the 10-year Treasury interest rate fell from 1.48% to 1.45%. It fell to 1.34% on Friday as worried investors sold shares and applied to bonds. Beyond the uncertainty surrounding Omicron, Wall Street is looking forward to next week. The Federal Reserve is planning a two-day meeting of policymakers. This event is significant because an update of the central bank’s plans may be proposed to tackle inflation. The Fed has said it intends to accelerate the pace of bond purchases, which has helped keep interest rates low. This has raised concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner than expected next year. The US dollar weakened from 113.36 Japanese yen. The euro rose to $1.1295.
Seoul Stocks Growth
In the sixth session on Wednesday, South Korean stocks rose, sparked by reduced anxiety over a new pandemic strain. The volume of trade was moderate. The 482 million shares were worth about 11 trillion won. In Seoul, the Samsung Electronics market closed unchanged from the previous session. SK hynix lost 1.23 percent. Samsung Biologics jumped 4.22 percent.
Asian stocks seem to be on the road to recovery. Most of the experts were right because the new version of the virus did not dramatically impact stocks as expected.
