TOKYO — Asian benchmarks mostly rose Thursday, as investor optimism got a perk from a rally on Wall Street that’s on track to break a three-week losing streak.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225
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Somewhat reassuring to market watchers was Japan’s revised seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, for the second quarter, which was revised upward to an annual rate of 3.5% growth, better than the initial estimate at 2.2%.
Data showed private consumption and business spending are holding up in the world’s third-largest economy, which has managed to grow for three quarters straight. The on-quarter growth for GDP, or the sum of the value of a nation’s products and services, was revised upward to 0.9% from 0.5%. The annual numbers show how the economy would have grown if the quarterly rate were to continue for a year.
“Economic conditions in the region will continue to be in focus, with China’s trade balance data yesterday revealing challenges in both external and domestic demand,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore, referring to Wednesday’s Chinese data.
Investors are also watching for what may happen on interest rates at the European Central Bank’s meeting, as well as for comments from U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, later Thursday.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500
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The indexes are now all in the green for the week, a welcome respite for traders after a slump in recent weeks that erased much of the market’s gains from a July and early August rally.
Wall Street watchers cautioned that the market is likely to see more volatility in coming weeks ahead of the next Federal Reserve interest rate policy update scheduled for Sept. 21.
“It’s good that there’s an up day, but I would caution anyone not to be too optimistic right now,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading & derivatives at Charles Schwab. “You don’t have a whole lot of reason for that.”
Wall Street’s focus remains on the highest inflation in decades and the Fed’s attempt to rein it in with high interest rates. The central bank has already raised rates four times this year and markets expect them to deliver another jumbo-sized increase of three-quarters of a percentage point at their next meeting in two weeks.
The central bank has been clear about its determination to continue raising rates until it feels that inflation is leveling off or cooling. In June, Fed officials projected that the benchmark rate will reach a range of 3.25% to 3.5% by year’s end and roughly a half-percentage point more in 2023.
“We are in this for as long as it takes to get inflation down,” Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said at a banking industry conference on Wednesday. “Our resolve is firm, our goals are clear, and our tools are up to the task.”
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 3.27% from 3.34% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to track expectations for Fed action, fell to 3.45% from 3.51%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude
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In currency trading, the U.S. dollar
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