Singapore, April 5 (BNA): Asian shares rose to their highest in more than a month on Tuesday, buoyed by a broad recovery on Wall Street while the euro remained stuck near a one-week low against the dollar.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan built on early gains and advanced 0.3% to 602.2, the strongest index since Feb. 24, Reuters reports.
The benchmark index has lost 4% so far this year, weighed down by big falls in Chinese stocks, while the Russia-Ukraine crisis has also hurt the near-term outlook.
“Geopolitical shocks historically have not tended to grip markets for long. The start of Fed tightening should not be seen as negative for equities, at least not in the early stages,” JPMorgan’s global markets analysts said in a note.
“After the initial volatility, stocks tend to make all-new highs,” JPMorgan said, adding that autos, airlines and banks could rebound as “geopolitics cease to drive the market.”
European shares slid with EUROSTOXX 50 futures down 0.1% and FTSE futures down 0.2%.
S&P 500 stock futures fell 0.08% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.05% after Wall Street rose on Monday, supported by technology shares.
Global stocks had a volatile quarter as the Russia-Ukraine crisis and concerns about rising commodity prices fueled inflation fears and clouded the direction of interest rates.
“Earnings report season begins in the US next week, and it will be interesting to see how companies interpret tea leaves, and whether earnings guidance is down,” Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at NAB, said in a note. .
Japan’s Nikkei is up 0.16%, the S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.2%, while South Korean shares are up 0.1%.
Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a public holiday on Tuesday. Shanghai entered a two-stage lockdown last week as authorities worked to contain the city’s largest outbreak of COVID-19.
In the currency markets, the Australian dollar jumped to a nine-month high after the central bank signaled higher interest rates were approaching. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.9% to $0.7612, its strongest level since late June.
The euro settled at $1.09710 after falling to $1.0960 in the previous session for the first time since March 28.
Global markets were looking forward to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting on Wednesday which could provide signals that the US central bank may raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by half a percentage point next month.
Oil futures rose as the possibility of more sanctions increased to concerns about supply disruptions, while Iran nuclear talks faltered.
Brent crude futures rose 1.1% to $108.7 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also rose.
Gold prices eased, with spot gold down 0.2% to $1,928.7 an ounce.