SINGAPORE : Asian shares rose sharply on Wednesday while the dollar was on the defensive as easing concerns over the banking sector revived risk appetite, while Alibaba's stock soared on the internet behemoth's plans to split into six units.
The news lifted investor confidence in the wider Chinese tech sector, with shares of Alibaba's e-commerce rival JD.com Inc 7 per cent higher, and gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd jumping 5 per cent.Following weeks of volatility in the market after the unexpected failure of two U.S. banks and the rescue of Credit Suisse in Europe, investor nerves were calmed this week by the sale of assets in collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank and no new signs of further stresses in the banking system.
Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, criticized SVB for going months without a chief risk officer and how it modelled interest rate risk. Worries over inflation have prompted investors to recalculate what they expect the Fed to do in its next meeting in May.