Jorome Powell

Asian stocks on July 11, 2019, soared in the morning session after Fed’s Chairman Jerome Powell hinted for a rate cut in his testimony on economic outlook yesterday. As of 9:00 local time in Thailand, Nikkei edged slightly higher by 0.14%, SSEC gained 0.33%, HSI up 0.90%, ASX 200 increased 0.30% and KOSPI surged 0.89%. SET closed at 1,739.43 points, rose 17.95 points or 1.04% with a trading value of THB 73.61 billion. “Uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the U.S. outlook,” said Powell. He also reiterated that the Fed will “act as appropriate,” something that he had stated quite often in the last few months and a positive sign for investors hoping for a rate cut. It is expected that a cut will be made by the end of July for at least 25 basis points. Overnight, Nasdaq surged 0.75%, hitting new closing and intraday highs. S&P 500 made a jump at the open and briefly topped 3,300 points for the first time before dropping back to a 0.45% gain at the closing. Meanwhile, Dow Jones added 0.3%, reaching a new intraday high of 26,983 points, but slid back to close at 26,860.20 points.