In Asia, stocks saw strong gains overnight, with the Nikkei rising 1.4% in Japan and the Hang Seng climbing 1.5% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite also ended the session 0.1% higher. Despite data showing a larger contraction in the Japanese economy than expected in the first quarter, this led to a recovery of the yen.
Meanwhile, Wall Street reached all-time highs due to lower US inflation, leading to expectations of two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. The S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite all reached record highs, with gains of 1.2%, 0.9%, and 1.4% respectively.
The dollar weakened further against both the euro and sterling, reaching multi-week lows. Meanwhile, gold prices approached record levels as investors sought safe haven assets amidst economic uncertainty. Crude oil also saw gains after rebounding strongly from a two-month low.
