On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged to record closing highs, driven by continued gains in tech-related stocks. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.2%, closing at 44,705.53. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1% to 6,049.88, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to finish at 19,480.91.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields remained relatively stable following a report indicating a slight increase in job openings at the end of October compared to the previous month. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes ticked up to 4.23% from 4.20% on Monday.
In Asia on Wednesday, South Korea’s currency recovered while its stock market fell in early trading. This followed a brief declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol amid political tensions, which he rescinded just hours later.
The won rebounded as much as 1.6% to 1,406.35 per dollar, erasing nearly all of its overnight losses. However, the Kospi equity benchmark dropped as much as 2.3%, with Samsung Electronics Co., the nation’s largest firm, sliding 3%.
South Korea’s central bank, which unexpectedly cut interest rates last week, convened an emergency meeting to discuss measures to stabilize the economy and financial markets. Korean assets have underperformed globally, weighed down by China’s economic slowdown and threats of trade tariffs from Donald Trump following his US election victory. The won has plunged nearly 9% against the dollar this year, marking it as the worst-performing currency in Asia, while the Kospi has declined by about 8%.
Authorities have vowed to take steps to support the won amid heightened market volatility.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.3% quarterly increase in GDP, falling short of economists’ forecast of 0.5%. Year-on-year, the economy grew 0.8%, compared to the anticipated 1.1%.
Growth was primarily driven by public sector spending, with government consumption and public investment making notable contributions, according to Katherine Keenan, head of National Accounts at the Bureau. However, GDP per capita declined for the seventh consecutive quarter.
The Australian dollar dropped 0.3% following the data release, while three-year bond yields, which are sensitive to policy changes, pared their earlier gains. Swaps traders increased the likelihood of a rate cut at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s April meeting to 71%, up from around 60% the previous day.
