Asian stocks rise after oil spills, easing fears of inflation

BEIJING (AP) – Japan’s stock benchmark rose 4% and other Asian markets rose on Thursday following a fall in oil prices, leading to fears of accelerating inflation.

Wall Street’s S&P 500 index rose 2.6% to its highest daily gain in 12 years as prices plummeted amid uncertainty The war in Russia on Ukraine.

Markets boomed when the U.S. crude oil price fell 12%, facilitated by pre-war fears. disruption of Russian supplies. Brent crude oil, the price base for international oil trade, fell 13.2% in its biggest daily decline in almost two years.

Economists said the changes were influenced by changes in futures contracts and other market factors, not war developments. They warned that markets will remain volatile as Russian and Ukrainian diplomats prepare to come together for negotiations.

“Markets seem to have resorted to a few slightly smaller tips as an excuse for a hard rally,” ING economists said in a report. “The basis of that hope – it’s really thin enough.”

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose to 25,697.20 while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.6% to 3,307.68. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.7% to 20,978.26.

The Kospi in Seoul jumped 2.1% to 2,678.11 when trade resumed after a day off for the South Korean presidential election.

S & P-ASX 200 Sydney added 1.4% to 7,150.50. The markets of New Zealand and Southeast Asia also emerged.

Oil prices rose again but rose only a few cents a barrel after falling more than $ 15 on Wednesday.

U.S. benchmark raw material increased 36 cents to $ 111.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Shipping Exchange. The contract fell between $ 15 and $ 108.70 on Wednesday. Brent raised 26 cents to $ 116.12 a barrel in London. It lost $ 16.84 the previous session to $ 111.14.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 4,277.88. Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2% to 33,286.25 and Nasdaq composite gained 3.6% to 13,255.55.

On Wall Street, the broad-based gains, with nearly 85% of stocks in the S&P 500 rising, were led by technology companies. Some of the strongest movements came from airlines, travel companies and other stocks resulting from a sharp drop in concerns about fuel costs and the economy.

Among the few reducers Wednesday were oil-related companies. Halliburton fell 5.2%, although it is still up 52% ​​for 2022.

Investors are watching the war because Russia is the No. 1 global oil exporter. 2 after Saudi Arabia and supplier nickel No. 3 used to make electric and stainless steel car batteries. Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat.

The White House banned Russian crude oil imports in order to punish the Kremlin.

European stocks rose even more on Wednesday than the U.S. market. The German DAX jumped 7.9% and the French CAC 40 rose 7.1%.

European economies become more dependent on Russia’s oil and gas supplies and are more shocked by the war. This could encourage European governments to use more economic stimulus, which could raise stock prices.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, investors were already unhappy about the plans of the Federal Reserve and other central banks to try to cool inflation by withdrawing ultra-low interest rates and other stimuli.

US The Department of Labor reported Wednesday firms posted an almost record level of open jobs, 11.3 million, in January, a trend that is helping to raise worker wages and exacerbate inflationary pressures in the US economy

Investors expect nutritionists to vote at a meeting next week to raise its short – term benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point. It would be the first such increase since 2018.

In currency markets, the dollar rose to 116.13 yen from 115.85 yen on Wednesday. The euro fell to $ 1.1049 from $ 1.1077.