Asian stocks rally, Europe opens 5 percent high as rate cuts expected
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Asian stocks continued to rise and European shares opened more than 5 percent high on Wednesday on hopes the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week in a bid to spur economic growth. Wall Street also marked its second-best day ever on Tuesday. (UPDATED)
The Nikkei ended up 7.7 percent, after plumbing its lowest since 1982 on Tuesday. Asia-Pacific stocks outside
Attractive valuations in almost every industry inspired the stock market rally, after a brutal sell-off that has seen
Britain's leading share index FTSE 100 also soared 5.1 percent early on Wednesday. Banks were among the top performers on the FTSE 100, as Barclays, HSBC, HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Standard Chartered advanced between 2.8 and 16.8 percent.
Central banks around the world were expected to lower benchmark interest rates further in coming days to shore up sputtering growth amid the worst financial upheaval in 80 years.
The Fed is widely expected to cut its key rate for the ninth time since September 2007 later on Wednesday, and the Bank of Japan will consider lowering its policy rate at a meeting on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank were both forecast to lower borrowing costs as well next week.
Wall Street marked also its second-best day ever on Tuesday as investors, convinced that central banks worldwide will cut rates even more, and scooped up stocks that had been driven down to their lowest prices in more than five years. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 10.88 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 10.79 percent while the Nasdaq Composite Index ran up 9.53 percent
Major European share markets are also expected to open as much as 5 percent higher after a massive rally on Wall Street, with financial bookmakers predicting continuing global momentum as investors search through badly-battered stocks for bargains.