Fed minutes showed policymakers in January expressed a readiness to hold interest rates steady amid stubborn inflation and economic-policy uncertainty. Officials also revealed pausing or slowing the balance-sheet runoff — a process known as quantitative tightening, or QT, until the government’s debt-ceiling drama is resolved.
“They will sit and wait before cutting again,” said Peter Boockvar, author of The Boock Report. “I say ‘cut’ because it still seems like they have an easing bias. The Fed also commented on the balance sheet. This could also be a reason why yields dipped a bit.”Financial markets appeared unphased by comments from President Donald Trump late on Wednesday in the US, which touched on efforts to cut government spending and further work to be done on tariffs. He also touted the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and Bitcoin gains in the last few months.
Bitcoin was a popular so-called Trump trade and soared to a record high in the months following November’s US election but has since fallen around 10% from a peak in January.
In Asia, data set for release Thursday includes export orders for Taiwan, inflation for Hong Kong and China one-year and five-year loan prime rates. Separate one-year medium-term lending facility data for China may be released anytime through February 25.
The latest China data will come after the country recorded the weakest start for inbound investment in four years, with just over $13 billion in new spending by foreign firms in the country in January.Investors will also be focused on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which faces a key test in its earnings presentation Thursday after a DeepSeek-sparked rally added more than $110 billion to its market value.
Elsewhere in the region, Rio Tinto Group posted a slide in annual profit, while Fortescue Ltd. reported a 53% drop in first-half profit, reflecting a decline in iron ore prices as Chinese demand has weakened.
In US trading Wednesday, quantum-computing shares jumped on Microsoft Corp.’s new chip. Homebuilders got hit after results from Toll Brothers Inc. and key construction data indicated the residential real estate market may be in store for more turbulence.
US economic data released Wednesday showed housing starts slowed in January as builders pulled back on single- and multifamily home construction amid growing worries over mortgage rates and unsold homes.
Treasuries were steady in early Asian trading after gains in the prior session. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after rising 0.2% Wednesday.
Oil prices rose Wednesday against the backdrop of uncertainties about crude supplies from Russia, Kazakhstan and OPEC+. Meanwhile, gold held just below an all-time high as mounting geopolitical tension underscored the metal’s haven appeal.
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