Global Market Today: Asian stocks advance as oil slips, yen in focus

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher, while oil slipped after President Donald Trump played down the prospect of a prolonged conflict with Iran. The yen remained in focus after its sudden strengthening.

MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge advanced 0.5%, with benchmarks in Japan and South Korea gaining. That came after the S&P 500 Index snapped a three-day decline and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%. Technology shares remained in focus after Broadcom Inc. predicted a boom in artificial intelligence chip sales over the next two years.

Early attention in Asia was on the yen, which weakened slightly to trade around 158.83 per dollar Thursday, after strengthening to as much as 158.22 in New York trading. The currency’s advance kept traders on alert for further intervention by authorities.


Adding to the positive tone, Brent slipped 0.6% to $95.10 a barrel after Trump said renewed attacks on Iran would likely be short-lived and reiterated his claim that the US controls the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Easing oil prices also helped bonds gain during the US session, pushing Treasury yields lower after their surge to multi-year highs.

The brighter tone followed a cautious start to September, when global bond yields surged as renewed fighting in Iran drove oil higher, fueling inflation concerns and bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike this month. With earnings season largely over, attention is shifting to Friday’s US jobs report for clues on the US economy and the policy outlook.

“Stocks are finding some footing after a difficult start to September,” said Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones. “Underlying fundamentals remain constructive. While seasonal headwinds merit attention, they are not sufficient on their own to derail the broader market uptrend.”

In Asia, the sharp rise in the yen left traders on alert for signs of further action by Japanese authorities to support the currency.

The yen began strengthening Wednesday after a Bank of Japan board member raised the possibility of outsized or back-to-back interest-rate hikes. The sudden move in New York trading reverberated across the $9.5-trillion-a-day currency market.

Traders also parsed data showing US companies added jobs at a more moderate pace in August, with the increase the smallest since the start of the year. The figures suggest employers are still hiring, though at a slower pace than in the spring, ahead of closely watched Labor Department jobs data on Friday.

New York Fed President John Williams told CNBC there’s evidence inflation continues to ease as the impact of tariffs fades, while higher energy prices have yet to spill over into services.

“His comments by no means rule out a September hike, but they challenge the market view that a September rate hike is clearly odds-on,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.