NEW YORK, Oct 10 — Wall Street indices powered to fresh records yesterday despite an impending major hurricane to Florida, while Chinese stocks tumbled on disappointment over a lack of fresh stimulus.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 rocketed to fresh records behind gains in technology shares such as Apple and Amazon, both of which piled on more than 1 per cent. Analysts characterised the move as a “buy-the-dip” bounce after weakness in recent sessions.
Florida residents fled — or defied warnings and tried to take shelter — yesterday in the final hours before Hurricane Milton, a lethal Category 4 storm, roars out of the ocean and tears across the state.
Despite worries over Milton and the protracted conflict in the Middle East, “the market didn’t seem bothered today,” Briefing.com said.
Fed minutes showed a divided group of policy makers, belying a one-sided vote last month for a large interest rate cut.
Financial markets were looking ahead to today’s consumer price index report, expected to influence future Fed actions.
Earlier, Shanghai slumped 6.6 per cent, giving back some of the gains after Beijing announced major measures last month to stimulate its economy.
A much-anticipated news conference in Beijing on Tuesday — after the Golden Week break — left traders disappointed as officials refused to unveil more stimulus and provided scant detail on the measures already pledged.
“When the market’s expectations were set sky-high for a 2-3 trillion yuan stimulus package and instead got hit with a big, fat zero, the party was over before it even began,” said Stephen Innes, a partner at SPI Asset Management.
Investors are now awaiting a Saturday briefing on fiscal policy by Finance Minister Lan Fo’an for more indications about official plans.
But analysts warned there was unlikely to be the big “bazooka” stimulus akin to the support seen during the global financial crisis.
Shehzad Qazi at China Beige Book said Beijing was “opting for targeting stimulus — including allocating funds for projects previously announced”.
Hong Kong’s stock market had soared more than 20 per cent between the first batch of announced measures in late September and the start of this week.
The Hang Seng Index collapsed more than nine per cent on Tuesday — its worst day since 2008 — and shed another one per cent yesterday.
Elsewhere, the dollar climbed against its main rivals on expectations that interest rate differentials will continue to favour the US currency. — AFP