HONG KONG: The recovery in Asian markets was hesitant on Friday (November 8) after initial gains as traders struggled to follow a new Wall Street record after the The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cutwhile they also assessed the prospects with another Trump administration.

Traders were also awaiting the end of a week-long meeting of top Chinese officials who have hammered out a major recovery plan for the world’s second-largest economy, with an eye on the outcome of the U.S. election.

Although some fear that four more years of Donald Trump will see increased tensions between Beijing and Washington, investors are optimistic that his plans for lower taxes and increased deregulation will improve corporate bottom lines.

Some worry that Republican policies could fuel inflation again, which would deal a major blow to the Fed’s long-running fight against prices.

But central bank boss Jerome Powell added to the optimism on Thursday by insisting that the outcome of this week’s vote would have no impact on policymakers’ decision-making, adding that they would take their decisions based on data.

After the policy council cut rates by 25 basis points, from 4.50 percent to 4.75 percent, as expected after September’s 50-point cut, Powell said: “We’re not guessing not, we do not speculate and we do not assume.”

In its post-meeting statement, the Fed said “labor market conditions have generally improved” since the start of the year and noted progress in reducing inflation to its target of 2 %.

Traders are now trying to determine the prospects for a further decline in December.

“With Powell squarely focused on the job, the combination of an inflation rate now close to the Fed’s target means he can easily justify further cuts,” said Robert Tipp and Tom Porcelli of PGIM Fixed Income .

“Even though uncertainty is high, the Fed’s forecast for the end of 2025 of a federal funds rate of 3.5 percent remains a useful starting point for where this cycle is headed.”

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied again to new record highs, helped by strong performances from tech titans Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook’s Meta.

Asia took over at the start of the session, but some markets fell in the afternoon.

Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta increased.

But Hong Kong and Shanghai turned negative, as did Seoul, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok.

In foreign exchange markets, the dollar fell against the yen, extending Thursday’s losses in response to the Fed’s taper, while bitcoin hit a new all-time high of over 76,956 on hopes of increased support from a crypto-friendly Trump White House.