Global Markets Today: Asian markets rose on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street’s gains following upbeat bank earnings amid a volatile session.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.16 per cent, with investors awaiting the release of September employment data later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.95 per cent, and the Topix index gained 0.8 per cent.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.09 per cent, while the smaller Kosdaq index added 0.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was poised to open lower, with futures trading at 25,848 compared to the previous close of 25,910.6.
US stock market today
The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in Morgan Stanley and Bank of America following strong quarterly earnings, even as investors kept a close watch on escalating China-U.S. trade tensions.
Morgan Stanley’s shares surged 4.7 per cent to an all-time high, while Bank of America climbed 4.4 per cent after both major lenders exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter profit expectations, driven by robust deal making activity.
The S&P 500 banking index advanced 1.2 per cent, marking its first three-day winning streak in over three weeks. The S&P 500 rose 0.40 per cent to finish at 6,671.06 points, the Nasdaq gained 0.66 per cent to 22,670.08 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.04 per cent to 46,253.31 points.
A day earlier, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase also reported strong investment banking results and forecast continued growth in the segment.
On Tuesday, Trump stated that the US was weighing the option of reducing certain trade relations with China, particularly those involving cooking oil. Earlier this week, both nations began implementing reciprocal port charges.