MARKETS: Stock markets rise in Asia – the Bank of Japan kept the key interest rate unchanged

In the United States, the S&P 500 index set a new price record for the 39th time of the year yesterday after a strong day of growth. After the Fed’s interest rate cut of 50 basis points on Wednesday, good labor market figures were received from the United States on Thursday, when new unemployment compensation applications were submitted last week, clearly less than expected and the previous week. The figures reinforce the narrative of a soft landing for the US economy (soft landing).

Vantage Point Asset Managementin investment manager Nick Ferres assessed to Bloomberg that Thursday’s strong uplift was a delayed euphoric reaction to the Fed’s big one-time bill.

“Valuation coefficients are already at heroic levels and the compensation for risk-taking is weak, especially if earnings growth is disappointing,” Ferres warned.

The strong global uptrend continued in Asia on Friday.

In its Friday interest rate decision, the central bank of Japan, as expected, kept the key interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent.

On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei index was up 1.9 percent and the broader Topix index was up 1.5 percent. Among Topix’s industries, the financial, energy and IT sectors, as well as basic industry, had the best increases of more than two percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.5 percent, but mainland China’s stock exchanges saw a slight decline on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, rates were mostly broadly rising.

European stock markets are expected to open after a strong opening yesterday. The Euro Stoxx 50 future was down 0.3 percent in the morning.

In the foreign exchange market, the yen weakened strongly against other major currencies after the central bank’s interest rate decision.

The yen had weakened by 0.8 percent against the pound, 0.6 percent against the euro and 0.2 percent against the dollar.

You got 1.116 dollars for the euro and 142.63 yen for the dollar.