Move FM Australian News

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia – Stocks in Australia took off on Wednesday, following the lead in the U.S. and Europe overnight. There is considerable speculation Down Under that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut official interest rates, despite them already languising at an historical low of 0.25%.

The view is supported by respected Westpac economist Bill Evans. While stocks rose the Australian dollar fell.

At the close of trading Wednesday, the Australian All Ordinaries had advanced 137.80 points or 2.31% to 6,111.30.

China’s Shanghai Composite index was ahead 5.41 points or 0.17% at 3,279.71. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.36% to 4,652.33. The smaller Shenzhen index added 0.72%, while the start-up board ChiNext Composite index climbed 1.735%.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose by 25.66 points or 0.11% to 23,742.51.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 went against the trend falling 13.81 points or 0.06% to 23,346.49.

The U.S. dollar had a stellar day in Asia on Wednesday. The euro was sent tumbling below 1.1700, to last trade at 1.1688 around the Sydney close.

The British pound fell sharply to 1.2686.

The Japanese yen softened to 105.02. The Swiss franc dived to 0.9205.

The Canadian dollar was softer at 1.3332. The Australian dollar was sold relentlessly, It last traded at 0.7119.

The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.6592.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.48 points, or 0.52%, to 27,288.18.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 was up 34.51 points, or 1.05%, to 3,315.57.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 184.84 points, or 1.71%, to 10,963.64.