Asian shares race to four-month peak as Fed pivot rally rolls on

Sydney, Dec. 15 (BNA): Asian shares jumped to a four-month peak on Friday as sharp declines in the dollar and U.S. yields extended a Federal Reserve-fuelled rally, but pushback on rate cuts from central banks in Europe could deal a blow to the global pivot hopes.

Europe is also set to open higher, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.2% and FTSE futures gaining 0.3%. Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures edged 0.1% higher, each, Reuters reported.

 

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.9% after an earlier rally to the highest since early August met some resistance due to a turnaround in Chinese shares. It is up a solid 2.8% for the week.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1%.

Chinese bluechips gave up earlier gains to be 0.3% lower and hit a fresh five-year trough. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, however, rebounded 2.2%, driven by a more than 3% jump in Chinese real estate firms on news that Beijing and Shanghai have relaxed home purchase restrictions.

M.I.