Stock Market Live: SGX Nifty up, indicating a positive start for Indian indices

Asian shares up; US Fed not actively considering 75 bps rate hike

Stocks and US equity futures rose on Friday amid calm in global markets following speculation of more aggressive interest rate hikes by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Japan, China and Hong Kong helped the Asian stock gauge climb 1%. US and European contracts advanced after a volatile S&P 500 session, with the index showing little change.

Powell reaffirmed that the Fed may raise rates by half a point in each of its next two meetings and is not “actively considering” a 75 basis-point move.

But he left open the possibility of doing more if needed to bring high inflation under control. Concerns that a tightening of monetary policy would lead to an economic slowdown cast a shadow on the markets and tried to dampen the rebound.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures 0.9% and Euro Stoxx 50 futures 0.8%.

Japan’s Topix index rose 1.7%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.4%, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 1.6%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4%.

Overnight, US stocks ended a volatile session slightly lower, as investors combined fears of moderating inflation with signs that it could peak. The S&P 500 came within confirming distance of a bear market since falling from its all-time high in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103.81 points, or 0.33%, to 31,730.3, the S&P 500 fell 5.1 points, or 0.13%, to 3,930.08, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 6.73 points, or 0.06%, to 11,370.96.