The pound struggled at 32-year lows against the dollar in Asia on January 16 after reports said British Prime Minister Theresa May was ready to take the country out of the European Union in a so-called “hard Brexit”. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Most Asian markets rose again Friday following another positive lead from Wall Street, with Tokyo boosted by a plunging yen, although traders remain nervous about the outlook for global trade with Donald Trump in the White House.
After one of the best weeks in January, gains were tempered with investors taking a breather as they keep an eye on developments in Washington where Trump is pushing on with his “America first” agenda.
Markets surged in the two months after Trump’s November election win on hopes his plans for big infrastructure spending, tax cuts and slashing red tape would fan the world’s biggest economy and, in turn, global growth.
The new year saw a retreat as his failure to provide any detail of his economic plans led to worries about his determination to follow through with his campaign promises.
But his decision to give the go-ahead to controversial oil pipelines across the US lifted spirits on trading floors earlier in the week as it was taken as a sign the tycoon would deliver.
In New York on Wednesday the Dow broke 20,000 for the first time and on Thursday extended those gains. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also sitting around record highs.
Asian markets have followed suit, rallying for most of this week.
On Friday Tokyo rose 0.3 percent as the dollar held Thursday’s rise against the yen. There was also some lift on news that Japanese consumer prices fell in December but at a slower pace than the previous month.
– ‘Renewed focus’ –
Sydney ended 0.8 percent higher, Singapore gained 0.4 percent and Manila put on 0.2 percent.
Hong Kong ended down 0.1 percent after a four-day rally.
Activity was thin across markets heading into the Lunar New Year break, while Shanghai and Seoul were already closed.
“Donald Trump is getting down to business and the stock market seems to like that,” Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at FX and CFD provider AxiTrader, said in a note.
“For now we are getting an extension of the Trumponomics rally in stocks. Traders and investors seem to have a renewed focus on the reality that for all his belligerence President Trump does seem likely to institute his key tax and economic plans.”
There remain worries, however, about Trump’s protectionist slant and on Thursday those tensions increased after Mexico’s president scrapped a planned visit to the US over the billionaire’s plans to build a border wall and make the country pay for it.
The escalating row also comes after Trump said he wanted to review a decades-old trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, one of many deals he promised to reopen.
– Key figures around 0600 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 19,467.40 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,360.78 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: Closed
Dollar/yen: UP at 114.99 yen from 114.56 yen
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0674 from $1.0673
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2562 from $1.2593
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN one cent at $53.77 per barrel
Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN nine cents at $56.15
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 20,100.91 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 7,161.49 (close)
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