Asian stock markets continued their rally for a third day, tracking gains on Wall Street. Indexes in Japan, South Korea, and Australia opened higher after the S&P 500 rose 0.9% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.6%. Meanwhile, markets also focused on Chinese stocks after Alibaba weakened in US trading following its earnings report.

This positive sentiment arose after US consumer confidence data for November fell sharply and retail sales rose only slightly. The data signaled that consumer spending was beginning to slow after several months of strong demand, reinforcing market expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates at its December meeting, although Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had previously cautioned that a cut was not yet certain.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell below 4% for the first time in nearly a month, as speculation of a rate cut increased. The market is also assessing the possibility of a looser policy if Kevin Hassett, considered a strong candidate for the next Fed Chair, leads the US central bank, in line with President Donald Trump's push for more aggressive interest rate cuts.

In Asia, the recent weakening of the yen has increased the likelihood of the Bank of Japan raising its benchmark interest rate next month due to inflationary pressures from higher import costs. In commodity markets, oil prices have stabilized after previously dropping to their lowest level in a month due to progress in the Ukraine peace talks. Meanwhile, gold edged up around 0.2%, helped by expectations of interest rate cuts, which typically benefit these non-yielding assets. (asd)

Source: Newsmaker.id