BENGALURU: Most Asian stock markets rose on Thursday, buoyed by hopes that China will soon disclose details of its fiscal stimulus plans, while most currencies edged lower ahead of US inflation data due later in the day.
Shares in Shanghai led the charge and were last up 1.8%, driven by expectations that China’s finance ministry will unveil detailed plans on Saturday, following a lacklustre media briefing earlier in the week.
Other regional markets followed the lead, with Bangkok’s benchmark index rising as much as 0.9% to its highest since Sept. 25, while Kuala Lumpur stocks climbed 0.5%.
“Markets may be getting optimistic that we might see a bit more detail that could support the view that China’s basically trotting out and will start to grow again,” said Robert Carnell, Asia-Pacific head of research at ING.
China’s central bank also started accepting applications from financial institutions for a new funding scheme, initially worth 500 billion yuan ($70.8 billion), aimed at supporting the capital market.
“If sentiment and the China story are looking more positive than they should, that should lift all the markets in the region (EM), at least for a while,” Carnell said.
Most currencies in the region were subdued, ahead of the US inflation report for September.
The report will likely give global investors more cues about the Federal Reserve’s policy decision next month, especially after the September meeting minutes showed “some” participants were inclined towards a quarter-point cut, a sign that the easing cycle will not be as aggressive as expected.
The Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht slipped between 0.2% and 0.4%.
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