Asian stocks rebound as Wall Street futures gain after holiday

Why on earth do they feel they have to show everyday people walking past the board? Very odd. I don't even think these people noticed they were being photographed let alone that stock prices are up 1.4% (yawn). They didn't even look. I can't wait till next next week when we'll see people fanning themselves while they walk past the board. For a real photo they could let a real bear loose to demonstrate a point.

Japan and China . . . have avoided joining in rate hikes. On Monday, China's central bank left its benchmark rates unchanged.

The People’s Bank of China held the 1 year loan prime rate steady at 3.7%, while the 5 year LPR stayed at 4.45%. China's approach to stimulus this year has relied mainly on targeted support for their crushed property sector lowering banks’ funding costs, and putting pressure on banks to make more loans. Many analysts expect a cut in the reserve requirement ratio to free up banks’ liquidity next, as a greater amount of one-year policy loans will mature in the second half of the year.

The yen is trading at 136.231 a few moments ago, up .86% for the day.

Good Wednesday evening.

Strange, but here we are. The Japanese depreciated past 136 per dollar, today sinking further to its lowest levels since 1998. At the hour it is trading at 136.151, down .17%.

Minutes from the last central bank meeting reaffirmed its firm towards it's low-yield, stimulative policy at a time other major central banks continue with interest rate hikes to curb inflation. BOJ left its key short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1%, and the one for 10 year bond yields around 0% at its June meeting, along with the offer to buy unlimited amounts of the bonds to defend an implicit 0.25% cap every day, repeating the guidance on market operations it made back in April. The mimutes reflect an awareness of the impact of a weak yenis having on businesses and the broader economy, and reaffirmed the ability to take easing steps without hesitation, if needed.

Not alone. Today, the Indian rupee weakened past 78 against the US dollar, the lowest on record amid foreign fund outflows, firm crude oil prices, and general dollar strength. At this hour it is trading at 78.2920, up .22%. The central bank last raised the policy repo rate by 50bps to 4.9% in June, still remaining below its pre-pandemic level.

The New Zealand dollar depreciated past $0.63, sliding towards a two-year low hit last week. It is current trading at 0.62600, down 1.09% for the day. Analysts see t the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will more than double its rates to 4.25% by year-end, suggesting a series of half-point rate increases. The RBNZ raised the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 2% back in May, and said rates would need to rise “by more and sooner.” That was the second 50 bps rate increase in a row, following three 25 bps increases, as the central bank acted in the face of an inflation rate of 6.9% in 1Q 2022, much higher than the central bank target range of 1% to 3%.

The Australian dollar weakened to around $0.69, sliding towards a two-year low hit in May. It is currently trading at 0.69035, down .79% for the day. The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised markets with a 50 basis point rate hike to 0.85% at its June meeting, signaling more tightening ahead with forcasts seeing inflation hitting 7% by year-end.

Have a good day.