Asian Shares Mixed Despite Fed Rate Cut Optimism

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday despite optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by a full percentage point by the end of 2024.

Gold was marginally higher as the dollar remained on the back foot after recording its worst week in four months.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered near a two-month low while oil rose further after jumping more than 4 percent on Friday.

In the Middle East, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. said he is hopeful a deal for the release of a significant number of hostages will be reached "in the coming days".

China's Shanghai Composite index was down 0.2 percent after the country's central bank left its benchmark lending rates unchanged.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7 percent. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings rose over 1 percent after plunging Friday on saying it would not proceed with the full spinoff of its cloud group.

Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.2 percent after hitting a 33-year high earlier in the session.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 percent, New Zealand's NZX-50 index inched up 0.1 percent and South Korea's Kospi was down half a percent.

U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Friday as bond yields fell further on dovish Fed expectations. In economic news, reports on housing starts and building permits painted a positive picture of the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent to clinch a third straight winning week and reach its best closing level in well over two months. The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both saw marginal gains.

European stocks rose notably on Friday amid growing optimism that global central banks will aggressively cut interest rates next year.

The pan European STOXX 600 rallied 1 percent. The German DAX rose 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.3 percent.