Market News

Asian shares got off on the back foot on Wednesday as continued civil unrest in Hong Kong sapped confidence. The dollar index was in sight of a four-year high after marking its best quarterly gain in six years.

With the last day of the month nearly over, the U.S. Dollar is on track to finish out September with the largest quarterly gain since 2008.

Asian stocks declined on Monday following another day of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Protesters continued to block the roads around the city, staging one of the biggest demonstrations since Tianamen Square.

The U.S. Dollar saw broad gains in London trading, with the months-long rally still holding onto a full head of steam in what is certain to be a market-moving event filled week which includes at its culmination, the non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

Day one for shareholders of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) was great. Week one proved less so. China’s largest e-commerce company slumped 3.7 percent to $90.46 last week after having soared 38 percent in its Sept. 19 debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Asian stocks fell, with Australian shares leading the regional index toward its lowest close since June as bond risk rose to a three-month high after a selloff in U.S. equities. New Zealand’s dollar strengthened from a one-year low after a smaller-than-estimated trade deficit.

The U.S. Dollar eased back during the opening trading session in Asia after last Friday’s gains when the greenback was pushed to a record peak against many of its major rivals.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA)’s initial public offering became the biggest ever at $25 billion, after bankers exercised an option to boost the deal size by 15 percent on strong demand.

The British pound rose sharply after early results from the Scottish independence vote reinforced expectations that Scotland would remain in the United Kingdom.

The Federal Reserve announcement and Janet Yellen’s speech afterwards weren’t as clear cut as some market players might have like but it was enough to provide the U.S. Dollar with a strong surge, suggesting that most investors felt the Fed was on a hawkish path given its future interest rate projections were higher than the previous read.

European shares closed largely higher on Wednesday, as investors bet the U.S. Federal Reserve would hold off on hiking interest rates.

The U.S. Dollar was broadly higher as FX traders wait for some guidance from the Federal Reserve Bank specifically as regards the possible timing of its next rate hike and the steps it will take toward normalize the current and historical ultra loose policy.

Asian stocks rose Wednesday, halting the regional index’s longest slump in 12 years, while industrial metals climbed and Chinese money-market rates slid as the country’s central bank boosts stimulus. The dollar rose before the Federal Reserve reviews interest rates.

The Aussie Dollar lost more ground against the U.S. Dollar during Tuesday’s trading session in London, moving closer to a 4-year trough that had been struck earlier this year.

Asian shares held near one-month lows on Tuesday as investors braced for a possible hawkish shift in the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy stance as the Fed begins a two-day policy meeting later in the day.