Markets in Asia and Europe mostly mirrored positive strides on Wall Street Thursday, as easing US consumer inflation buoyed hopes that a big interest rate cut was around the corner, and as economic growth in Japan outpaced expectations. The eagerly awaited US consumer price index (CPI) data showed a 2.9 percent rise last month from a year ago -- its smallest 12-month increase since March 2021 -- setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates.
Traders were optimistic that a cut at the September meeting could exceed the anticipated 25 basis points, with some observers eyeing as much as 50. "The current buzz isn't about whether the Fed will trim rates at its spotlight-stealing September 17-18 gathering but how deep they'll dig into the cuts," analyst Stephen Innes said in his Dark Side Of The Boom newsletter. Positive growth figures from Japan meant the Nikkei 225 led the Asian surge, as the world's fourth-largest economy reported a better-than-expected GDP rise of 0.
8 percent for the second quarter. The news came a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would step down next month as his poll ratings tumbled ahead of next year's elections due to price rises that have eaten into Japanese incomes, as well as a slew of scandals. "Consumer sentiment should have improved because real wages have turned positive as promised wage increases start to get paid to workers," Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist at SuMi Trust, said before the data's release.
"In .