Asian Shares Mostly Higher After Advance On Wall Street

Asian shares were mostly higher following an advance on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve said the economy still appears strong enough to keep interest rates steady.

The PSE index did not follow suit as it ended the week seeing its gains erased. I Photo: The Philippine Stock Exchange

Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.1% to 24,455.60, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.5% to 3,408.98. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.3% to 2,637.10, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 7,918.90.

Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 1.9%, and Thailand’s SET in Bangkok rose 0.4%. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks also got a boost from easing bond yields. When Treasury yields decline, investors may be more willing to pay higher prices for stocks.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% to 5,675.29, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% to 41,964.63. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4% to 17,750.79.

The rally followed weeks of sharp and volatile swings in the U.S. stock market as investors worried about how much economic strain President Donald Trump would tolerate to reshape the system.

He has stated his goal of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and significantly reducing the federal workforce.

Trump’s barrage of announcements on tariffs and other policies has created substantial uncertainty, leading economists to worry that U.S. businesses and households may cut back on spending.