· Asian stocks were steady on Monday as investors awaited the return of major financial markets from the Good Friday holiday, while oil prices spiked on a report the U.S. is likely to ask all importers of Iranian oil to end their purchases or face sanctions.
· Stocks in Asia were mixed in Monday morning trade, while markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed for the Easter Monday holiday.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.2 percent in early trade, as shares of index heavyweights Softbank Group and Fanuc declined around 1 percent each. The Topix index also shed 0.33 percent.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.14 percent as industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock rise 0.88 percent.
· Risk-taking has been the rage since the Federal Reserve quit hiking interest rates at the end of last year. U.S. stocks are back near record highs and investors are stockpiling the lowest-grade corporate bonds with only a smidgen of extra compensation for the added risk.
That rebounding mood on Wall Street may be welcomed by a president that has been demanding the Fed cut rates after markets fell sharply last year, and complaining that even pausing at the current level is the wrong call.
But if anything the ‘pause party’ on Wall Street makes it even less likely that the U.S. central bank will cut rates. Recent positive news on retail sales and exports, which have eased concerns of a sharply slowing economy, makes the case for a rate cut even weaker.
Investors at least have gotten the message, and shifted from projecting a rate cut later this year to now putting the odds at only 50-50 that the Fed will move lower by early 2020.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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