TOKYO (AP) – Asia stock markets rose Friday on expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at a record low for several more months. Energy stocks advanced with the price of oil.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.4 percent to 18,395.29 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.3 percent to 22,633.78. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.3 percent at 5,279.70 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9 percent to 3,171.34. Southeast Asian stock markets also rose. South Korea’s markets were closed for a holiday.
FED FACTOR: Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting showed officials expressing confidence that the U.S. economy was improving. But policymakers worried that inflation remains abnormally low, noting the recent drop in commodity prices. That was the main reason the Fed did not raise interest rates in September. Markets now think the Fed won’t hike at its meetings in October or December, particularly after weak monthly U.S. employment numbers.
THE QUOTE: “The Fed minutes released overnight seemed to cement investor expectations for the Fed to delay their first rate rise until 2016,” Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG, wrote in a commentary. “The big question now is how far can this relief rally go for?”
WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 138.46 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,050.75 on Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 17.60 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,013.43 and Nasdaq composite rose 19.64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,810.79.