Asian Shares Mixed As China Holds Rates

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged following a surprise cut in July.

Investors also assessed minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's August meeting and looked ahead to the release of FOMC meeting minutes and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole Speech for clues on the pace and timing of interest-rate cuts.

The dollar held near a seven-month low and Treasury yields dipped on expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon signal it's ready to start cutting interest rates.

As recession worries ease, the U.S. central bank is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at each of the three remaining 2024 meetings.

Gold held ground above $2,500 per ounce in Asian trading.

Oil extended losses, after having fallen by about 2 percent on Monday as China demand worries persisted, and Israel accepted a proposal to tackle disagreements blocking a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.7 percent to 2,873.55 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.4 percent.

Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.6 percent despite the yen hitting a more than one-week high against the dollar.

South Korea's Kospi average was up 0.87 percent at 2,697.54, led by technology stocks. Samsung Electronics rose 1.5 percent and SK Hynix was up 3.4 percent.

Australian markets edged up slightly as the minutes of Reserve Bank of Australia's recent meeting showed the central bank had considered raising interest rates earlier in August.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the broader All Ordinaries index both were up around 0.2 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index was down 0.8 percent at 12,559.

U.S. stocks rose overnight amid a broad-based rally as economic worries subsided and Fed officials signaled readiness to start interest-rate cutting cycle.

In economic news, a reading on leading indicators fell much more than expected in July but didn't signal recession.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent, and the S&P 500 added 1 percent to end higher for the eighth consecutive session while the Dow edged up 0.6 percent.

European stocks extended gains for a fifth day running on Monday as investors awaited further clues on the U.S. economy.

The pan European STOX 600 gained 0.6 percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.6 percent.