Stock market today: Asian shares gain after US Fed cuts interest rates

Asian shares advanced Friday after most U.S. stocks rose as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again to ease pressure on the economy.

Oil prices fell while U.S. futures edged higher.

Regional investors were watching for much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy as the top body of the national legislature wrapped up a meeting this week.

“If Beijing delivers, we might see a powerful rally ripple through the region as investors gear up for a fresh surge in market momentum,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 21,055.62, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.7% to 3,495.38.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 39,476.64.

Shares in Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. plummeted nearly early Friday, after the company on Thursday announced that it will dismiss 9,000 workers and slash its global production capacity by 20% due to falling sales and rising costs and inventory.

In South Korea, the Kospi surged 0.7% to 2,581.50, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9%, to 8,302.10.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 5,973.10, adding to its surge from the day before following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 43,729.34, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5% to 19,269.46.

The Fed’s announcement that it was easing its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point caused few ripples in the market because even the precise size of it was so well anticipated by investors.

The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target. What’s less certain in the minds of investors now is how much Trump’s victory may upset the Fed’s plans.

Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.

For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, nothing is changing. “In the near term, the election will have no effects” on interest-rate policy, he said.

At this point, Powell said it’s still not clear what the policies will be after Trump returns to the White House.

“We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume,” he said.

JPMorgan Chase fell 4.3%, a day after banks decisively led the market on expectations that a stronger economy and lighter regulation would mean fatter profits. It and Goldman Sachs were the biggest reasons for the Dow Jones Industrial Average's slight loss.

Smaller U.S. stocks also lagged the market, with the Russell 2000 index down 0.4%. A day before, it more than doubled the S&P 500’s gain on expectations that Trump’s America-First priorities would most benefit smaller, more domestically focused companies.

The stock that’s become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, fell 23%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond eased to 4.33% from 4.44% late Wednesday.

A report on Thursday showed slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits, though the number remains relatively low. A separate report suggested U.S. workers improved their productivity during the summer, which can help keep a lid on inflation, but not by quite as much as economists expected.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 33 cents to $72.03 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 30 cents, to $75.33 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 153.00 Japanese yen from 152.94 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0788 from $1.0804.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.