Wall Street gave up most of the gains from the start of yesterday's session and closed flat. The S&P 500 ended the session down 0.02%, Nasdaq added 0.04%, and the Dow Jones closed with a gain of 0.37%, while the Russell 2000 smoothed out its opening loss (-0.25%).
China's Hang Seng Index is up 1.6%, recovering from losses at the open, initially caused by investor disappointment with the announced stimulus packages for developers. Gains are being driven by the PBOC, which launched a loan program worth a total of 300 billion CNY (42.1 billion USD) for Chinese companies to finance share buybacks.
Optimism on the Chinese stock market is supported by relatively good macroeconomic data. GDP grew year-on-year by 4.6% (forecast: 4.5%, previous: 4.7%), industrial production also rebounded significantly (5.4%, forecast: 4.6%, previous: 4.5%), and retail sales improved (3.2%, forecast: 2.5%, previous: 2.1%). However, the positive impact of the data is tempered by the ongoing decline in property prices (-5.8%, previous: -5.3%).
South Korea's Kospi Index fell by 0.5% in light of accusations that the leading Australian fund, Regal, has engaged in short selling on the Korean stock market.
Japan's Nikkei 225 is flat for now. The index slowed its 0.7% loss from yesterday, triggered by weaker export data, indicating softer demand from China and the United States.
Inflation in Japan fell in September as expected, to 2.5% year-on-year (previous: 3%). The core reading was slightly higher than forecast, but it still showed an improvement compared to the previous month (2.4%, forecast: 2.3%, previous: 2.8%).
Shares of TSMC soared by 4.8% after the company reported results that significantly exceeded market consensus. Revenue for the last quarter and EPS rose by 54%.
WTI crude oil futures continue to rise, adding 0.54%. Yesterday’s assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remains a risk factor for potential escalation in the Middle East conflict, and Israeli Prime Minister rhetoric remains tense—according to Netanyahu, the mission to "combat evil" is not yet over, and special attention must be paid to the hostage situation.
Key cryptocurrencies are entering Friday with gains: Bitcoin is up 1.3%, and Ethereum is rising by 0.8%.
Precious metals are also gaining: gold is up 0.77%, and silver adds 1.47%.