Stock growing, yen decline and Hong Kong close for trade - market wrap

Asian markets rose, tracking gains registered on Wall Street, which were driven by declining political tensions, optimism about the US tax reform, and the commitment of global central bankers to conduct adequate monetary policy on current economic conditions.

The stock market in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul rose, but volumes remained at low levels. The New Zealand dollar dropped sharply after the country's government cut its expectations for the country's economic growth and budget surplus.

In Hong Kong, typhoon Hato continues to rage, and the city's stock exchange is closed until 07:00 Bulgarian time, and is likely to remain closed throughout the day.

Here are the main moves at the moment

Indices:
- Japan's Topix index rose 0.5%, while KOSPI and ASX200 managed to climb by only 0.1%.
- SP500 futures declined by 0.1% during the Tokyo trade.
- MSCI Asia Pacific, the index measuring the development of the Asian region rose by 0.2%.

Forex:
- The yen dropped 0.1% to 109.69 per dollar after a 0.5% decline on Tuesday.
- NZD declined by 0.6% and AUD 0.2%
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1%, with EUR/USD traded at around 1.1762.

Bonds:
- The yield on 10-year US Treasury bills changed to 2.21%, while their Australian equivalent rose 3 basis points to 2.67%.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Jr Trader Petar Milanov

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