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Informist, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asia mkts higher for 2nd session tracking gains on Wall Street

 

MUMBAI--0825 IST--Equity indices in Asia were largely higher, tracking gains on Wall Street due to optimism after US President Donald Trump said he wouldn't be imposing tariffs on eight European countries. Investors in the region will now await Bank of Japan's policy meeting, which is expected to keep rates unchanged. 

 

The regional indices were higher for a second session after Trump said he wouldn't be imposing tariffs on eight European countries over his ambition to acquire Greenland. The US leader also said he wouldn't acquire the Arctic island by force. In Japan, the central bank will meet and is expected to keep policy rates unchanged at 0.75%, as per a poll of economists by Reuters, CNBC reported. HSBC expects the central bank to raise policy rates by 25 basis points in July 2026 but believes that further depreciation in the yen could compel the bank to raise policy rates sooner, with April as a possible alternative, CNBC said. The central bank is stuck between the need to control the 'yen bears' with hawkish commentary while not triggering any further rises in bond yields due to expectations of heavy spending by Sanae Takaichi's administration, Reuters said. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will likely offer clues about when the central bank's next rate hike might be, which is complicated by the country's prime minister's decision to call snap elections. 

 

South Korea's KOSPI was up for a third session after markets crossed the 5,000 mark for the first time on Thursday. This was a milestone that South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung had promised would be attained through market reforms and tax measures to close the "Korea discount", Reuters said. Shares of technology companies in the region were lower after US-based tech giant Intel's forecasts for its revenue and profit for the quarter were below market expectations. The company faced difficulty satisfying demand for server chips used in artifical intelligence data centres. The company, however, beat market expectations for its fourth quarter earnings, but the soft guidance for the current quarter soured expectations.  

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0823 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4704.67	(-)0.40
Hang Seng Index	26745.07	0.43
KOSPI	4994.22	0.84
Nikkei 225 Day	53870.35	0.34
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3638.01	0.60
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4878.40	1.04
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8877.80	0.33

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end up 2nd straight day on optimism over US-Europe

 

MUMBAI--0745 IST--US equity indices ended higher for the second consecutive session after jitters over a possible trade war between the US and Europe subsided. Data from the US showed that the country's economy grew faster than expected, with economic growth for Jul-Sept revised slightly higher. 

 

Major US equity indices ended higher after surging on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said he would not impose import tariffs on eight European countries after reaching a framework on a deal over Greenland. Stocks were already rising when Trump earlier said he would not try to acquire the Arctic island by force, CNBC reported. This marked a turnaround from the 'sell America' trade which was seen after threats of tariffs prompted a sell-off in US equities, soaring treasury yields, and the dollar facing pressure. 

 

"A lot of times, the words that come out of the White House, it's all kind of part of the grander negotiation and that there's a certain outcome that's being driven towards, so any of the noise that takes place in the midst of that process playing out more often than not...they turn out to be buying opportunities," Eric Parnell, chief market strategist at Great Valley Advisor Group, was quoted as saying. The analyst also said the underlying fundamentals of the market continue to be strong.

 

Even though sentiment continues to be optimistic, some concerns remain, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasising her country's sovereignty was not negotiable. "The Kingdom of Denmark wishes to continue to engage in a constructive dialogue with allies on how we can strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US's Golden Dome, provided that this is done with respect for our territorial integrity," Frederiksen said. 

 

US GDP growth for Jul-Sept was upwardly revised to 4.4%, its fastest pace since the third quarter of 2023. The economy grew at a pace of 3.8% in the second quarter. "The slight upward revision to growth in the July-September period reflected upgrades to exports and business investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the ‍calculation of GDP, were revised up. Consumer spending and a smaller trade deficit were the key drivers of GDP growth in the third quarter," Reuters reported. Economists polled by Reuters had estimated that GDP would be unrevised at 4.3%. The number of people that applied for unemployment benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 200,000 for the week ended Jan. 17, Reuters reported, citing a report from the Labour Department. 

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his talks with US President Trump had resulted in security guarantees for Ukraine being finalised. However, the vital issue of territory remains unsolved. The Ukrainian president also said a deal was almost ready for an economic recovery after the war with Russia concluded. In Ukraine, Zelensky has been burdened with an energy crisis due to strikes from Russia, which have left millions in the country without power or heating, Reuters reported. Zelensky has described this as Russia's attempt to freeze the inhabitants of his country to death.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Thursday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6913.35	0.55
NASDAQ Composite	23436.02	0.91
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49384.01	0.63

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 91.63

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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