The optimistic tone of the Federal Reserve's statement after the two-day marathon meeting was enough to trigger a jump in the stock market in Asia. After the historic record of the S&P500 yesterday evening, the regional index marks a less historic but significant record in the early afternoon of the East: the MSCI Asia Pacific, which is growing by 1,1%, is at its highest level since June 2008.
In addition to the reinsurances of the Fed, there were also those of the Chinese Prime Minister Li, who affirmed, in a speech in London, that China will maintain a minimum growth of 7,5% per annum (necessary, he said, to give employment to the new levers), and "honestly and solemnly" ruled out the possibility of a hard landing (reassurances from politicians must always be taken with a grain of salt, but in this case, the Chinese government has the means to live up to its commitments).
The Nikkei jumped by 1,5%, despite the yen returning just below the 102 level. The euro strengthened to 1,359, in line with the Fed's intentions to keep interest rates low on the dollar. WTI oil is stable at 106,5 $/b (Brent at 114,6), while gold has reared its head again following the reiteration of an expansive monetary policy: the yellow metal shares around 1278 $/ounce.
