The dollar rose Wednesday as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted a strong currency, dousing speculation the US would help support the yen, which fell to around 153 per dollar. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.24%.
(Jan 29) : US stocks and Treasuries were broadly stable after the Federal Reserve held rates as expected, while a slew of mega-cap tech results were mixed. The dollar pared its recent slump as the yen weakened.
Equity index futures for Japan and Australia were flat, while those for Hong Kong fell. The S&P 500 ended Wednesday little changed, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%. Those moves failed to capture after-market gains for Tesla Inc and Meta Platforms Inc as investors responded favourably to earnings reports. Shares in Microsoft Corp dropped in post-market trade in a potential sign of unease with its spending.
