Chinese stocks jumped higher as a rally pushed into a second day after Beijing announced a flurry of measures aimed at reviving the housing market after a prolonged downturn.
The dollar dipped to a two-and-a-half-year low against the pound after weak US macroeconomic data overnight boosted the case for a second super-sized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. Gold renewed an all-time peak.
Mainland Chinese blue chips advanced 2.4pc, following a 4.3pc jump in the prior session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 2pc, adding to Tuesday’s 4.1pc surge.
The strong start for Chinese stocks briefly invigorated other regional indexes, but those gains soon fizzled, with Australia’s benchmark last flat and South Korea’s Kospi declining 0.1pc.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.9pc higher.
Japan’s Nikkei shook off early weakness to rise 0.4pc, buoyed mainly by a stabilisation in the yen exchange rate and Wall Street’s rise to new record highs overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2pc, to 42,208.22, the S&P 500 rose 0.3pc, to 5,732.93, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6pc, to 18,074.52.
In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes was down at 3.73pc from 3.76pc late on Monday.
