Asian markets climb as oil dips, Fed decision keeps traders cautious

Asian markets opened broadly higher on Wednesday, extending the rebound from the brutal previous week as investors took their cue from another positive session on Wall Street.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index rose about 0.8% at the open and is trading 1.7% up at press time, marking its third straight day of gains.

Oil prices dipped on Wednesday, as a buildup in US crude inventories helped ease some of the pressure, balancing out the usual spike in prices that investors expect from geopolitical risks.

The easing in oil prices came despite some fresh attacks on the UAE’s energy facilities.

Wall Street lead lifts Asian stocks

Japan led the early advance, with the Nikkei 225 rising about 2.40% to around 54,988.58 levels.

The upbeat open came on the backs of exports, which grew 4.2% year-on-year in February, but a noticeable slowdown from January.

Still, the number came in stronger than expected as economists had only forecast a 1.6% rise, though it’s a big step down from the sharp 16.8% surge seen the month before.

South Korea’s Kospi also got off to a stronger start, moving within a 5,767–5,890 range and hovering close to 5,854 levels at press time.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng opened in positive territory at around 25,868, but later pared gains and is trading 0.20% down at 25,824.70 levels during press time.

The push really came from the US overnight, where stocks logged another set of modest gains.

The S&P 500 edged up about 0.3% on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.5%, giving Asian markets a gentle tailwind rather than a big jolt.

Bond markets were pretty steady too, with the 10-year US yield slipping around 2 basis points to 4.20%.

That slight dip helped ease some near-term inflation worries as investors look ahead to the Fed’s decision.

Indian indices open in green

Riding on positive global cues, Indian markets opened on a strong note on Wednesday, with the Nifty comfortably moving above the 23,600 mark.

The Sensex was up about 340 points, or 0.45%, at 76,410, while the Nifty gained around 106 points, also 0.45%, to trade at 23,687.

The Indian market breadth was positive, as around 1,378 stocks advanced, 711 declined, and 202 remained unchanged.

Iran intensifies attacks against US, Israel

Markets were reacting against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, as Iran stepped up attacks on US assets in the Middle East and on Israel on Wednesday.

The strikes appear to be in retaliation for the reported killing of Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, overnight, with the conflict showing little sign of easing after weeks of escalation.

According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its missiles struck more than 100 military and security targets inside Israel as part of what it called a “revenge” operation.