TOKYO / NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, followed by an advance through Wall Street’s main indexes to record highs, while investors watched key central bank meetings this week, starting with the US Federal Reserve.
An index of the region’s stock markets, excluding Japan, strengthened by 0.7%, led by a 1.2% rise in Australia’s standard S & P / ASX 200 index.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to just below the exact 30,000 mark, while the wider Topix added 0.5%.
China’s CSI 300 index with blue chips climbed 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 0.7%.
On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared the rise in travel stocks as mass vaccinations in the United States and congressional approval of a $ 1.9 billion bill boosted investor optimism. has.
E-mini futures contracts for the S&P 500 increased by 0.06%.
Investors are focused on the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which will close on Wednesday, as yields rose this year on investors betting that central bankers will have to raise rates before indicating so far that they will contain inflation. Fed policymakers are expected to predict that the U.S. economy will grow at the fastest rate in decades in 2021.
The Bank of England also meets this week on Thursday, while the Bank of Japan concludes a two-day meeting on Friday.
“The markets are likely to be ahead of this … heavy central bank-laden week,” TD Securities analysts wrote.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 174.82 points, or 0.53%, to 32,953.46, the S&P 500 rose 25.6 points, or 0.65%, to 3,968.94 and the Nasdaq Composite added 139.84 points, or 1.05%, to 13,459.71.
Shares in airline rose as companies pointed to concrete signs of a recovery in the industry as explosion by vaccines encourages leisure discussions.
Germany, France and Italy have fired COVID-19 shots at AstraZeneca after several countries reported potentially serious side effects.
The development will be monitored in Australia, where the vaccine will also be administered.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat on Monday after hitting the highest level since February 2020.
The U.S. Treasury’s long-term yields declined further on Tuesday as the market looked forward to the Fed meeting and the latest auctions.
The standard yield for ten years, which peaked at more than one year last year at 1.642%, was back at 1.595%
Rising inflation expectations could prompt the Federal Committee for Public Markets to say that rates will start rising sooner than expected.
In currencies, the US dollar made small gains overnight in subdued price action before central bank meetings.
The greenback was largely flat at 109,165 yen, after rising as high as 109,355 on Monday for the first time since June.
The euro was slightly changed at $ 1.19320, declining for an eighth session below the close $ 1.20 level.
Bitcoin continued its decline from a record high of $ 61,781.83 reached on Saturday, and last traded 3% weaker on the day at around $ 53,915.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April changed from $ 64.79 a barrel, by 60 cents. Brent crude futures for May total $ 68.21 a barrel, losing 67 cents.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland and Elizabeth Dilts Marshall; Edited by Cynthia Osterman and Jacqueline Wong