Market Bizzz

Asian stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday as the markets remained buoyant as global shares rallied on news that peace talks over Ukraine are making progress. However, Japan was trading lower. MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.96 per cent.

Hero MotoCorp said it will increase prices of its motorcycles and scooters by up to Rs 2,000 from April 5 to partially offset the impact of increasing commodity prices.

The dollar was kept on the back foot on Wednesday as hopes for a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks lifted the euro, while the under-pressure yen steadied even as the Bank of Japan redoubled efforts to pin down bond yields.

Asian stocks opened higher on Tuesday, extending US gains on hopes over peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, while investors also bought shares to gain rights to receive dividends. MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.56 per cent.

HCL Technologies said it has been selected to provide global service desk and on-site support to global healthcare company Novo Nordisk.

The yen fought for a footing on Tuesday, following its worst session in 16 months, as the Bank of Japan pins down bond yields at a time when they are rising sharply in the rest of the world. The Japanese currency fell as much as 2.4% to 125.10 to the dollar overnight, its lowest since August 2015, before recovering to 124.24 in volatile morning trade in Tokyo.

With peace talks between Russia and Ukraine set to take place in Turkey this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy insisted on the territorial integrity of his country after earlier suggesting he was ready for a compromise.