Fed’s Statement Pushed The Global Stock Markets Up

Asian markets closed strongly up today by building up further gains on top of yesterday. Investors cheered the news when Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the Central Bank is no rush in increasing the short term interest rates. He also added that the Central Bank is looking to support the monetary policy which will stimulate the growth in the US. In mainland China, the speculators also echoed similar idea that the People Bank of China may take some necessary steps to boost the growth in the country.

However, volatility took the stage once again in Japan when the Central Bank of Japan announced that they were not going to add any further stimulus package which pushed the Nikkei index down. But, the bank did increase the economic outlook for the country and confirmed that they see a modest recovery in the country.

The Shanghai Index was the best performing index during the session which closed with a gain of 3.23%. The index is up nearly 3.31% for this week. The Hang Seng index was the second best performer and closed with a gain of 2.55%. The Nikkei index also managed to turnaround and closed in a positive territory with a mild gain of 0.39%.

Resource sector and commodities soared during the session on the expense of dollar. Inpex Corp and Woodside Petroleum both increased during the session with a gain of 1.5% and 1.6% respectively. Financial sector was also one of the best performing sector during the session and shares of Haitong Securities Co. and China Minsheng Banking group both gained nearly 9.85% and 9.88% respectively.

European stock markets are also trading sharply higher during the early hours of trading. Deutsche bank cooked its balance sheet and made billion of loans disappear from their balance sheet which were made since 2008 to other banks, Bloomberg reported.

The Dax Index is the best performing index during the session which is trading up with a gain of 1.27%. The index is up nearly 4.36% for this week. The CAC 40 index is the second best performer and is also trading up with a gain of 1.08%. The IBEX 35, FTSE 100 are also trading up with a gain of 0.63%, 1.11% respectively.

DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER: The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice. responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader.

by Naeem Aslam