ASIAN stock markets followed Wall Street higher Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, after Britain’s central bank moved forcefullyto stop a budding financial crisis.
Market benchmarks in Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney added more than one percent.
Shanghai and Tokyo also rose. Oil prices edged lower after jumping by more than US$3 per barrel the previous day.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index surged two percent on Wednesday, Sept. 28 for its biggest gain in seven weeks after the Bank of England announced it would buy as many government bonds as needed to restore order to financial markets.
That helped to calm investor fears that planned British tax cuts would push up already high inflation. That had caused the value of the British pound to fall to its lowest level since the 1970s and bond prices to plunge.
“The risk of a major financial accident has been reduced in the short term,” David Chao of Invesco said in a report. “The focus will return to the still pressing macro challenges facing major economies.”
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,053.33 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.7 percent to 26,365.36. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.3 percent to 17,466.89.
The Kospi in Seoul gained 1.3 percent to 2,196.97 and Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 rose 1.8 percent to 6,577.70.
New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also advanced. / AP