Stocks in Asia and the Pacific closed mostly higher on Thursday (5), after the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank) yesterday minimized the chances of more aggressive interest rate hikes.
In mainland China, markets returned from holidays with only modest gains.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.68% to 3,067.76 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite index gained a similar 0.68% to 1,891.66 points.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Taiex rose 0.79% in Taiwan, at 16,696.12 points, but the Hang Seng dropped 0.36% in Hong Kong, at 20,793.40 points. In Japan and South Korea, there was no business today due to holidays.
In Oceania, the Australian stock exchange was in the blue, interrupting a sequence of three negative sessions. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.82% in Sydney at 7,364.70 points.
The prevalence of risk appetite in the Asia-Pacific region followed yesterday’s Fed decision. The US central bank raised its policy rate by 50 basis points, as was widely expected, but its chairman, Jerome Powell, said the institution is not considering further hikes further down the road.
Powell’s comment led to a rally on Wall Street on Wednesday.
In China, on the other hand, another indicator showed the impacts of the worst wave of Covid-19 that the second largest economy in the world has been facing.
The Chinese services PMI measured by S&P Global with Caixin Media fell to 36.2 in April, hitting the lowest level since February 2020, the initial phase of the pandemic.
Source: CNN Brasil
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