Asian Markets Mixed While Australia Reaches New Record Peak

Asian markets mixed on Fed cut hopes; ASX hits record high, Nikkei slips; oil rises, gold steady ahead of US data.

Asian equity markets delivered a mixed performance today on Thursday, with Australia’s benchmark reaching an all-time high amid growing expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

Investor sentiment was buoyed by overnight Wall Street gains and a 93.8% probability, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, of a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed’s September meeting. The optimism followed weak U.S. jobs data, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggesting policymakers should keep the door open for a larger 50-point reduction. President Donald Trump has continued to press Fed Chair Jerome Powell for deeper cuts.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 70.70 points, or 0.80%, to close at a record 8,897.80. Gains in mining, energy, financials, and technology sectors drove the advance. Origin Energy surged nearly 5% on strong earnings, while Westpac Banking Corp jumped more than 6% after upbeat quarterly results. Mining heavyweight Rio Tinto underperformed.

Asian Markets Mixed While Australia Reaches New Record Peak

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.27% to 42,726.63, snapping a seven-day winning streak, as declines in exporters and technology stocks outweighed financial sector gains. Toyota lost 1.5% and Tokyo Electron dropped over 2%, while SoftBank Group rose more than 3%.

Across the region, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia posted modest gains, while Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan edged lower. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.57% and Hang Seng eased 0.59%.

Global Market Snapshot

• Nikkei 225: -1.41%
• Shanghai Composite: -0.57%
• Hang Seng: -0.59%
• ASX 200: +0.48%

Commodities: Gold held at $3,407.55 (-0.02%), silver dipped to $38.58 (-0.06%). Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude at $65.91 (+0.43%) and WTI at $62.91 (+0.42%). U.S. crude inventories rose 3.0 million barrels, defying expectations for a 0.9 million-barrel decline.

Bond Markets: The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.236%, UK’s at 4.5880%, and Germany’s at 2.6801%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at record highs despite intraday pullbacks, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%. European shares also advanced.

Key Data Ahead (12:30 PM GMT):

• USD Core PPI m/m
• USD PPI m/m
• USD Unemployment Claims

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