Most Asian Stocks Gain As Trump's Second Term Powers Wall Street

Most stocks in Asia extended gains on Thursday, following Wall Street's record rally as investors positioned their portfolios ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Equity benchmarks in Hong Kong and China led the advances during the session. The Hang Seng was 208 points, or 1.04%, higher at 20,745, while the CSI 300 was 28 points, or 0.71%, at 4,052 as of 9:32 a.m.

Stocks in China gained after the country set the Yuan fix at its weakest since 2023 after a dollar surge. Yuan tumbled 1% on Wednesday as Trump's victory aided the US dollar.

Asian stocks closed the previous session with gains, as investors weighed in on the possibility of Trump's second term, which he later won. Kamala Harris later conceded the election and told supporters to accept her election loss.

The S&P 500 had its best post-Election Day session in history while the Nasdaq 100 rose to a fresh record. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2.53% and 3.57%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.95%.

Expectations that a Trump policy agenda favouring lower taxes and less regulation may help corporate earnings were reflected in gains for US markets.

A note from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had previously called out that a Republican sweep may push the S&P 500 up by 3%.

US 10-year yields advanced 17 basis points to 4.44%, while Bitcoin hit a record high as crypto investors were upbeat on Trump's return. Most Asian currencies fell on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened. Japanese yen fell the most by 1.2%, followed by a similar depreciation in the Malaysian ringgit.

Meanwhile, the focus will now shift from election to the Federal Reserve as the central bank will most likely cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News. However, traders remain wary of the extent of Fed cut next year due to the possibility of high inflation under a Trump presidency.

The Philippines' GDP print, Australia's commerce figures, and China's foreign reserves and trade data are among the key points to watch out for in Asia on Thursday.

Crude oil prices steadied as traders weighed the likely impact of Trump’s election victory. Brent crude was trading 0.81% lower at $74.92 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.03% at $71.71.