- US market futures extended their gains on Thursday, lifting Asian shares higher amid signals that the S&P 500's 4-day drop is due for a reversal.
- As chipmaker Nvidia provided a bullish outlook and climbed more than 9% in extended trade, contracts for the Wall Street benchmark rose 0.5%, while those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%.
- Hong Kong, mainland China, and South Korea's market indices all climbed, as did European futures, while Australian equities sank. Due to a Japanese holiday, there was no trading of equities or treasuries during Asian hours.
- Following a surge on Wednesday, the US dollar fell versus all of its G-10 currency competitors. The Australian dollar advanced the most, owing to stronger-than-expected business investment data and exporters' dip-buying.
- Australian bond yields moved higher, while New Zealand's 2-yr and 10-yr debt yields increased by more than 10 bps.
- The 10-yr US Treasury benchmark dipped 4 bps on Wednesday, however the drop was reduced following the release of Federal Reserve minutes.
- According to the minutes, authorities foresee future interest rate increases to keep inflation under control. They also claimed that a few officials were open to a 50 bps increase at the central bank's meeting earlier this month, when interest rates were lifted by 25 bps.
