Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg
Most Asian and European stock markets rose on Thursday, getting a boost from signs the Federal Reserve was in no hurry to remove stimulus as the Biden administration eased its stance on corporate tax hikes.
The
ended 0.1% lower in Tokyo, but only 2% below its 52-week high reached in February. Other Asian indexes, including the
in Hong Kong and the
in Sydney, advanced.
READ MORE
The
rose 0.4%, and was on track to set a record high. U.S. stock futures were primed for a positive start.
It was the first opportunity for traders in Europe and Asia to react to the minutes of the last Federal Reserve interest-rate meeting, which showed the central bank would continue its current pace of bond purchases.
“This is in line with what we’ve been expecting and adds more credence to our view that the Fed is unlikely to start policy normalization any time soon. After all, in the minutes it was also revealed that a number of participants highlighted the importance to clearly communicate their assessment of progress towards their goals well in advance of the time when it would warrant a policy change,” said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.
Fed Chair
Jerome Powell
is due to speak on Thursday at an International Monetary Fund event.
Meanwhile, the political debate around the Biden administration infrastructure spending proposal continues, with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo saying there was room to compromise on the proposed increase in corporate taxes to 28% from 21%.
Of stocks in the spotlight, discount giant
reported a same-store sales rise of 16% for March.
rose 3% in London, after saying it is planning to spin off its thermal coal business, as environmentally-sensitive investors increasingly pressure companies to divest from coal activities.
