Major U.S. stock indexes ended on a positive note on Monday, but with minimal gains, as investors shrugged off the downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit by Moody’s Ratings. Against this backdrop, you also had U.S. President Donald Trump, who on his Truth Social revealed that he had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking the two war-torn nations to ‘immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire’
In overnight trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.32% higher; the S&P 500 ended 0.09% higher; and the NASDAQ gained by 0.02%. While gains look negligible, it helped the S&P 500 extend its 6-day winning streak and also just 3% away from its record high.
PBC, RBA cut rates
Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Asian markets were all cheered up, thanks to the People’s Bank of China, which slashed its 1-year loan prime rate to 3.0% from 3.1% and its 5-year loan prime rate to 3.5% from 3.6%.. The 10 basis point cut will help boost the economy at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail growth.
At the time of publishing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 1.28%, Japan’s gained close to half a per cent. Likewise, Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39%. market participants were also keeping their eye out for Australia’s central bank’s decision, which cut its policy rate to 3.85%, its lowest level since May 2023. The Reserve Bank of Australia has stated that bringing inflation to its 2% to 3% target range remains its highest priority.