Asian stock markets are mostly trading higher on Thursday, following the positive cues from global markets overnight. This comes as traders react to the latest remarks from US Fed officials, which have helped to alleviate concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated during remarks at Stanford University that the central bank is not in a rush to start lowering interest rates, but he also affirmed his belief that they will probably cut interest rates this year. It’s worth noting that Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday. Making up for the previous session’s losses, the Japanese market is seeing a significant increase on Thursday, in line with the mostly positive trends in global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 has surpassed the 40.1K handle, with gains seen in most sectors, particularly driven by technology and financial stocks, which are among the index heavyweights.The final updates for today’s UK and Eurozone services PMIs for March are expected to remain unchanged upon revision. In the UK, the initial March headline measure decreased to 53.4 from February’s 53.8, marking the second consecutive monthly decline since January’s eight-month high. Despite this, the data still indicates a rebound in economic activity from late 2023’s recession. With the March manufacturing PMI showing an upward revision earlier this week, attention is drawn to whether a similar trend will be observed in services. In the Eurozone, the initial March services reading rose to 51.1 from February’s 50.2, surpassing the key 50 threshold for the second consecutive month, suggesting a stabilization in activity. These factors will impact the European Central Bank’s upcoming decision on interest rates next Thursday. The release of minutes from its last meeting today will be analyzed for hints regarding the likelihood of an interest rate cut next week. However, ECB policymakers have consistently indicated that while a cut is foreseeable as inflation converges towards target, the April meeting may be premature, with action more likely in June. It would be surprising if the minutes challenged this consensus.The highly anticipated monthly US labor market report tomorrow prompts attention towards weekly jobless claims data for any signs of deviation from the consistently low levels, indicating a tight labor market. The Challenger Job Cuts release will provide further insights into the job market’s state. Additionally, already released trade in goods data suggests a slight increase in the overall trade deficit for March.
Overnight Newswire Updates of Note
(Sourced from Bloomberg, Reuters and other reliable financial news outlets)
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