Stocks in Asia were mostly higher overnight, with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 0.6% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.15% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.4% up by the end of the session.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 0.2% on the day.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is the weakest G10 currency this morning, having fallen 0.64% against the US dollar.
Across the pond on Wall Street stocks were higher at the end of a choppy session the day before as beaten-down regional banking shares advanced on a quiet day for markets.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) finished 0.5% higher at 44,254.78, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) advanced 0.3% to 6,263.70, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose a similar percentage to 20,730.49.
This was despite some market anxiety lingering over the uncertain tenure of Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.
The initial news that Donald Trump was likely to fire Powell sent stocks and the dollar sliding. But Trump was quick to deny the reports, restoring some calm to volatile markets, but he kept the door open to the possibility, and renewed his criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates.
TSMC tsm (TSM, 2330.TW), the world’s main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a jump in second-quarter profit to record levels, although US tariffs and a strong Taiwan dollar could impact its outlook. Netflix (NFLX) also reports results later today.
In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 4.453% from 4.489% late on Tuesday.
