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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Most Asia mkts rise on US rate cut hopes; Japan at record high

 

MUMBAI--0806 IST--Most Asian indices were higher in early trade, tracking the strong gains in the US market overnight. A softer-than-expected inflation print in the US, which boosted hopes of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, also buoyed investor sentiment in the region.

 

The Japanese market hit fresh highs again, with the Nikkei 225 and Topix up around 1?ch. Electronics and automobile stocks led the gains in the Japanese market. Advantest and Subaru Corp. stocks were up 4% and 2%, respectively. "Recent Japanese asset appreciation reflects positive steps the government is taking to improve capital markets and corporate governance, especially corporate sensitivity to equity values," CNBC reported Fitch Solutions as saying. 

 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.7%, the only index in the red across the region. The index was weighed down by bank stocks, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia down nearly 5%. The lender, which is considered one of the most expensive banks in the world in terms of price-to-earnings ratio, reported a record annual profit, but analysts said its bottom line was boosted by a lift in trading income which can be volatile, Mint reported. National Australia Bank and Westpac were also down around 2?ch.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0759 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4148.7858	0.12
Hang Seng Index	25193.22	0.90
Nikkei 225 Day	43260.05	1.27
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3093.82	0.90
KOSPI	3204.54	0.46
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4254.72	0.81
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8821.90	(-)0.66

 

(Akash Mandal)

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Equity Alert: US mkt notches record highs on softer-than-view Jul CPI print

 

MUMBAI--0749 IST--US indices ended sharply higher Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 closing at record highs, as a better-than-expected inflation print for July boosted sentiment. Expectations for a rate cut in September soared following the print, with the CME Fedwatch tool showing a 94% probability of a 25-basis-points cut compared to an 86% probability a day ago.

 

The US CPI increased 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July and 2.7% on a 12-month basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Dow Jones had expected the CPI to rise 0.2% last month  and 2.8% on an annual basis. "The CPI data is supportive for equities overall, getting some good news with the Fed looking more on track to cut (rates) in September and potentially more transitory inflation," Reuters reported Katherine Bordlemay, co-head of client portfolio management, fundamental equities at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, as saying.

 

Among stocks, Alphabet rose over 1?ter Perplexity made a $34.5 billion cash offer to buy the company's Chrome browser, Reuters reported. Intel Corp. surged nearly 6?ter US President Donald Trump met and praised Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan and called the meeting "very interesting." This comes after Trump had demanded the resignation of Tan over the latter's investments in Chinese firms.

 

Analysts are now increasingly confident on the bull market sustaining even in the face of a weakening economy. "A potentially more relevant question for investors is whether fundamental weakness is likely to matter to financial markets over the next six-to-twelve months...we are beginning to lean toward the conclusion that it won't, provided it unfolds slowly," CNBC quoted analysts at BCA Research as saying. In fact, overall weakening of the economy could even be "celebrated as a catalyst" for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, BCA said. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Tuesday:

 

INDEX	LAST LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	44458.61	1.10
NASDAQ Composite	21681.904	1.39
S&P 500	6445.76	1.13

 

(Akash Mandal)

 

US$1 = INR 87.71

 

End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

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