Asian stocks posted a modest gain at the open after Wall Street shares rallied to a new record, lifted by renewed big-tech optimism.
Gauges in Australia and South Korea rose while equity-index futures for Hong Kong — facing its most damaging typhoon since 2018 — were flat. There will be no cash trading of Treasuries during the Asian day as Tokyo is closed for a public holiday.
The S&P 500 notched its 28th record of the year as Nvidia Corp. jumped about 4% after pledging to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. A gauge of the dollar was little changed Tuesday after dropping in the prior session. Gold steadied after climbing to a record.
Wall Street traders shrugged off calls for a pause after a $15 trillion rally from April lows, with technology stocks leading the gains. US equities have risen for three straight weeks, buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut of the year, and investors should be “responsibly bullish,” said Tony Pasquariello of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“Do I love the positioning setup and tactical risk/reward? I don’t,” he wrote. “Do I think you should be stepping in front of the US mega cap tech freight train? I don’t.”
Action was relatively muted in the bond market Tuesday, with US yields slightly higher ahead of this week’s Treasury auctions and a key inflation reading. The Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation likely grew at a slower pace last month, offering policymakers some breathing room to address weakness in the US labor market.
The report on Friday is forecast to show the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose 0.2% in August, compared with 0.3% in July. On an annual basis, the so-called core measure is seen holding at a still-elevated 2.9%.
Several Fed officials are set to speak at public events this week, including Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday. In his first policy speech since joining the Fed, Governor Stephen Miran laid out his argument for aggressively lowering interest rates.
Meantime, Fed Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem noted he sees limited room for cuts amid elevated inflation. His Cleveland counterpart Beth Hammack said officials should be cautious to avoid overheating the economy.
Elsewhere, New Zealand is set to appoint a woman as head of its central bank for the first time as it seeks to refresh an institution damaged by leadership turmoil, according to a person familiar with the matter. In another twist, the new Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor is a foreigner, the person said, asking not to be named discussing market-sensitive information. They wouldn’t identify the new governor.
In Hong Kong, super typhoon Ragasa poses a potential test for the city’s push to keep markets open during severe weather. The storm could delay the trading debut of Zijin Gold International Co. after the world’s biggest initial public offering in months.
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