Asian stocks higher on Yellen testimony
January 20, 2021SharePrint
Asian equities edge higher on stimulus story
Incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made all the right noises as far as Wall Street was concerned at her confirmation hearing overnight.
Wall Street responded overnight with a thumbs-up, buying equities and selling the US dollar. They wanted to hear more stimulus, and Ms Yellen delivered 1.9 trillion reasons on that front. The financial markets chose to ignore what they didn’t want to hear. Namely, Yellen’s remarks that taxes would rise on corporations and the rich, and that a repairing of relations with China was off the table. Ms Yellen mentioned China’s trade practices and the incoming Biden administration has signalled that the China tariffs will remain in place.