CashNews.co
Shares in Asia rose overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) surging 2.8% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) soared 4.1% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 3.6% up by the end of the session.
The positive sentiment came after a raft of economy-boosting measures by China and an announcement that the government plans to give cash handouts or discount vouchers to the poor ahead of next week’s National Day holidays.
While subsidies to ordinary people are uncommon, the ruling Communist Party sometimes marks special occasions with payments to families in difficulty.
The amount of the payments was not specified but they may help address a weak point for the economy which is faltering consumer spending.
Oil prices also advanced overnight.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.7%, to 41,914.75, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.2%, to 5,722.26, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was almost flat, closing at 18,082.21.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, which influences investment decisions around the world, was 3.79% from 3.74% a day earlier.