Global markets fell flat on their face early Wednesday in reaction to comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier, humbling investors across all major asset classes.
As Cryptopolitan reported, Powell warned that “equity prices are fairly highly valued,” while Trump added more heat by slamming the Fed’s indecisiveness in a morning briefing.
U.S. stock futures barely moved Tuesday night. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up just 18 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures added 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 rose 0.09%. That came after the S&P 500 finally ended a three-day win streak and backed away from record highs. In after-hours trading, Micron Technology surged over 2% thanks to earnings that beat forecasts and a strong outlook. The company’s 46% revenue jump was tied to the AI boom that’s still pulling in cash.
Asian markets tumble after Powell and Trump leave rate outlook unclear
Across Asia, markets were all over the place by Wednesday. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 dropped 0.92%, closing at 8,764.5. Japan moved in the opposite direction. The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3% to 45,630.31, and the Topix rose 0.23% to 3,170.45. Japan’s stock rally is still going, even with risk on the table. Foreign investors keep pumping money into the market, helped by governance reforms and improving company earnings.
South Korea didn’t hold up. The Kospi lost 0.4% to close at 3,472.14. The Kosdaq, packed with smaller names, slid 1.29% to 860.94. Still, defense stocks ignored the pain. Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace, and Hyundai Rotem all climbed between 2% and 5%. Investors were clearly betting on military tech no matter what Powell or Trump said.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index jumped 1.49%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 finished higher at 4,566.07. But that didn’t mean things were calm. Super Typhoon Ragasa tore through the region, bringing violent winds and floods. The Hong Kong Observatory said southern districts and high grounds were facing hurricane-level damage. Markets stayed open, though, and Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares soared more than 6% after CEO Eddie Wu told investors the company was ramping up investment in artificial intelligence.
Japan’s recovery looks steady but fragile. Real wages and household spending are creeping up. Inflation is finally hovering around the Bank of Japan’s 2% target, and the yen has calmed down after its wild crash to 160 per dollar last year. Zuhair Khan, senior fund manager at UBP Investments, said Japan’s strength is tied to “fundamentals and valuations relative to other markets.” The Nikkei 225 now trades at a 23.01 price-to-earnings ratio. Topix sits at 17.46. The S&P 500, by comparison, is floating up at 28.54.
Back in commodities, spot gold was last seen at $3,778.78 per ounce, up 0.4% after smashing through a record high of $3,830 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December slid 0.1% to $3,812.10.
Silver kept running, up 0.5% to $44.23 per ounce, closing in on its highest level in nearly 14 years. Platinum moved 0.4% higher to $1,483.53, and palladium added 0.3% to $1,225.46.
Oil wasn’t spared from the drama, as its prices moved up slightly as traders reacted to falling U.S. crude stockpiles. Brent futures surged by 26 cents to settle at $67.89 per barrel by 0810 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose 26 cents, finishing at $63.67, according to data from Reuters. The supply drop gave oil bulls a reason to show up, even if Powell and Trump had just dropped an economic gut punch.
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