Asian stocks ex Japan & New Zealand rise on ‘slow Fed’

Stock markets across Asian except Japan and New Zealand extended Thursday’s gains on relief the Fed is likely to raise rates at a slower-than-expected pace.

Major gainers include names like South Korea’s Kospi, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Australia’s S&P ASX 200. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 0.20%, while the stocks in New Zealand shed 0.15%. Shares on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index are trading near the highest level since June 2015.

The disconnection between the USD/JPY pair, which is trading higher and the weak stock market is slightly surprising.

Fed statement released earlier this week brought relief to the riskier assets across the globe. Even though the central bank indicated a slower rate hike path, the treasury yields have remained resilient. The two-year yield, which is highly sensitive to the rate hike bets, is down just three basis points at 0.77% compared to the pre-Fed level of 0.80%.