Japan Stocks Spike As Ishiba Calms Rate Hike Fears: Asia Markets Wrap

Stocks in Japan led the gains in Asia while yen plunged as Shigeru Ishiba, the new prime minister, calmed speculations over another interest rate hike.

The Japanese benchmark—Nikkei 225—opened over 3% higher while Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 0.11% at 8,207 as of 5:41 a.m. The yen suffered its worst day against the US dollar since June 2022.

Ishiba said that the economy isn’t ready for another interest-rate hike. "I don’t think the environment is ready for an additional rate hike,” he said. Even Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments on rate hike echoed that of its nation's leader, dimming down rate hike hopes.

On Wednesday, A gauge of US-listed Chinese companies climbed almost 5% after mainland stocks listed in Hong Kong rose, according to Bloomberg.

The Chinese stock market will be closed for seven days, starting Tuesday, Oct. 1, for Golden Week festivities, with holiday consumption in focus. After a record-breaking rally last week, China regained the influence it lost for over 10 months in the MSCI Emerging Market index.

Elsewhere, data on Wednesday showed that companies in the world's largest economy added more jobs than expected last month. Private payrolls in the US increased 1.43 lakh last month against the estimated 1.25 lakh after an August advance that was the weakest since March 2023.

Traders will eye Friday’s official nonfarm payroll numbers as it will be the next crucial data on the labour market hinting at a possible rate cut by the Fed.

Stocks in the US edged higher while treasuries fell as the latest strong job numbers weakened the hopes for a second big rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.01% and 0.08%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced by 0.09%.

On the commodity front, crude oil prices rose for a third day as tensions in West Asia escalating, with Israel expected to retaliate against Iran following Tehran’s missile attacks.

Brent crude was trading 0.83% higher at $74.51 a barrel as of 5:57 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.96% at $70.77.

• US Dollar Index at 101.68

• US 10-year bond yield at 3.79%.

• Brent crude up 0.84% at $74.52 per barrel.

• Bitcoin was 0.05% down at $60,877.25

• Gold spot was down 0.02% at $2,658.2