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Informist, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian indices rise on global cues; BoJ likely to cut rates

 

MUMBAI--0815 IST--Asian equity indices opened higher, tracking gains in technology stocks on Wall Street. Better-than-expected inflation data from the US also boosted market sentiment. Investors are betting on a hike in interest rates by Bank of Japan. The central bank's decision is due Friday.  

 

Japan's Nikkei rose 1% and Korea's KOSPI was up 0.5%. Market participants see a 90% chance that the central bank of Japan will raise its benchmark rate to 0.75% from the current 0.50%. Investors are waiting for more hints that could lead to another rate hike in 2026, Reuters reported. The rate hike could strengthen the yen against the dollar and contain inflation. But it could further slow a weak Japanese economy that contracted in the third quarter, CNBC reported.

 

Headline annual inflation in the US was 2.7%, as per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was lower than economists' forecast of 3.1%. However, analysts cautioned that the data was distorted by the government shutdown and could not be taken at face value, Reuters reported.

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0805 IST

 

Level	Last	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	49502.36	1.02
S P/ ASX 200 INDEX	8624	0.42
TAIEX	27811.11	1.25
CSI 300 Index	4583.99	0.69
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3385.67	0.86
SSE Composite Index	3897.65	0.55
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4572.76	0.05

 

(Adhithya Aji)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher Thu after CPI data; S&P snaps 4-day fall

 

MUMBAI--0738 IST--US equity indices ended higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-day losing streak as softer than expected inflation data for November heightened hopes of an interest rate cut in 2026. The delayed November consumer price index report showed headline annual inflation of 2.7%, as per the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure was below the forecast of 3.1% from economists.

 

The S&P 500 ended 0.79% higher and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 1.38%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14%. On Thursday, computer data storage maker Micron was the top gainer in the Nasdaq Composite after the company gave a strong revenue forecast for the December quarter. The stock was up nearly 10%. The company revived artificial intelligence trade which had seen weakness in the recent sessions, as per a CNBC report. 

 

The CPI report was pushed back from its original release date of Oct. 10. The bureau had cancelled October inflation data due to the 43-day shutdown of the US government. This meant that the reading did not have all the usual data points of a standard CPI report, CNBC reported.  

 

The 12-month rate for core CPI, which excludes food and energy sectors, was at 2.6%, as per the data from the government agency. This is also lower than the market expectation of 3%, CNBC reported. However, due to the lack of comparable data for October, economists might not place much significance on this reading as the beginning of a downward trend in inflation. They have also raised concerns regarding the calculations for housing inflation, as per the report by CNBC.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6774.76	0.79
NASDAQ Composite	23006.36	1.38
Dow Jones Industrial Average	47951.85	0.14

 

(Adhithya Aji)

 

US$1 = INR 90.24

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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