Tuesday 18th March 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Rally as Wall Street Gains Ease Recession Fears

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.43%, Shanghai Composite up 0.09%, Hang Seng up 1.88% ASX up 0.06%
• Commodities : Gold at $3023.35 (0.20%), Silver at $34.25 (-0.68%), Brent Oil at $71.15 (0.65%), WTI Oil at $67.51 (0.74%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.286, UK 10-year yield at 4.6420, Germany 10-year yield at 2.8020

News & Data:

• (USD) Core Retail Sales m/m 0.3%  to 0,3% expected
• (USD) Retail Sales m/m 0.2%  to 0.6% expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets rose on Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street after U.S. retail sales data helped ease recession concerns. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led the region, climbing 1.93%, driven by a strong rally in tech stocks like Baidu, which surged 9.83%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 also rebounded, edging up 0.15% after previous session losses.

Investors are closely watching Japan as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) begins its two-day monetary policy meeting. The central bank is expected to maintain interest rates at 0.5% when the meeting concludes on Wednesday. This coincides with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting, where rates are also expected to remain unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.43%, while the Topix index rose 1.41%. South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.17%, with the small-cap Kosdaq adding 0.11%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded flat after early gains. In India, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex climbed 0.45% and 0.43%, respectively.

Meanwhile, U.S. futures dipped despite a rebound in major indexes. The S&P 500 rose 0.64% to close at 5,675.12, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.31% to 17,808.66, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.85%, adding 353.44 points to end at 41,841.63.

The Dow’s rise was supported by gains in Walmart and IBM. All three major U.S. indices posted consecutive daily gains, bouncing back from a four-week slump driven by declining consumer confidence and trade policy uncertainty.

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The post Tuesday 18th March 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Rally as Wall Street Gains Ease Recession Fears first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.