Tokyo/Sydney — Asian shares were subdued on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech failed to give markets fresh trading catalysts, while the Australian dollar slumped after the central bank opened the door to a possible rate cut. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan barely moved with China and several other markets in the region still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.3%, while e-mini futures for the S&P 500 edged higher. Australian shares advanced 0.5%, rising for a third session. The Australian dollar slumped more than 1% to hit a one-week low of $0.7153 after Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Philip Lowe said the central bank remained optimistic about the economic outlook but acknowledged rates might fall if unemployment were to rise and inflation stay too low. “Over the past year, the next-move-is-up scenarios were more likely than the next-move-is-down scenarios. Today, the probabilities ap...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.