Month: April 2015

Why an oil inventory fall won’t boost prices much: Goldman

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Declines in US oil inventories and capex may boost prices modestly in the near term, but production growth will remain too strong for substantial gains, Goldman Sachs said.

“While the decline in the US rig count has been faster than we expected, it remains insufficient in our view to balance the US market in 2016,” Goldman said in a note dated Monday. “Prices need to stay low for longer to achieve a sufficient and sustainable slowdown in US production growth.”

Read More: Iran deal may be slow to affect oil sector

The aggressive capex and activity cuts may offer some modest upside to its USD 40 a barrel forecast over the next three months, but the risk to its longer-term USD 65 a barrel forecast is to the downside, Goldman said.

Wild ride

Oil prices have taken a wild ride recently, surging more than 6 percent in US trade Monday, with WTI futures for May delivery at USD 52.14 a barrel after reports from private company Genscape showed inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, a physical storage hub, had fallen. But that spike followed an around 4 percent drop Thursday on expectations a pending deal with Iran could boost supplies significantly. Speculation that Cushing facilities would soon be full, sending more crude back onto the market has weighed on prices recently. Government data on supplies is released Wednesday morning.

While US crude storage capacity is being tested, Goldman expects the inventories will peak in April, before declining from May to September, with last week’s data from the US Energy Information Administration showing a decline in weekly production offering a potential early sign the market is stabilizing.

But that could prove temporary.

“Any meaningful price recovery on evidence of declining production and US crude inventories would further undermine the US rebalancing process,” it said.

Read More: Trader Andy Hall says oil prices still are on the way higher

In addition, production could continue to grow in April, with producers focusing on “high-grading,” or shifting resources to their highest-quality wells, as well as productivity gains and shorter drilling times, Goldman said. It expects US production will grow by 700,000 barrels a day this year.

Downtrend not over

Others also expect the recent gains in oil prices aren’t a sign the long downtrend has ended.

“It’s a bit of a head fake,” Matt Smith, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric, told CNBC Tuesday. He attributed the rise to a combination of pent-up demand over the long holiday weekend and a weaker dollar as well as the Genscape data.

Additionally, oil had dropped sharply last week on concerns a framework deal on Iran’s nuclear program could lead to a flood of oil flowing out the country as sanctions were lifted. But analysts believe it will take months, if not a full year, for Iran’s oil exports to begin and even longer for investment in the country’s crumbling oil infrastructure to boost its production to previous levels.

“The immediate bearish reaction to this news has then been sort of considered and somewhat unwound again,” Smith said. But he added, “The reality is that there is a rebalancing going on here and we’re likely to see more weakness before we head truly stronger from here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian equities open higher with eyes on RBA

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian equities rose early Tuesday, tracking an inspiring lead from Wall Street overnight and as markets awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) rate decision.

Pressure is mounting for the Australian central bank to follow up with a second 25-basis-point interest rate cut, after taking rates down to an all-time low of 2.25 percent in February, amid plunging iron ore prices – the country’s biggest export.

“It’s a close call. There is a huge misalignment between market and economist expectations, with markets pricing in 80 percent chance of cut but consensus calls for steady rates,” said Kathy Lien, managing director of FX Strategy at BK Asset Management.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is also scheduled to meet, with economists split over whether the central bank will cut interest rates for the third time in four months, while the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kicks off its two-day monthly policy meeting today.

Overnight, US stocks closed higher as a disappointing jobs report renewed hopes of a delayed increase in interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed up 0.7 percent, respectively, while the Nasdaq finished 0.6 percent higher.

ASX jumps 1.2 percent

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index hit a near two-week high on its first trading day since being shuttered on Good Friday, as traders look ahead to the monetary policy decision due at 1230 SIN/HK.

Among the resources sector, energy and gold-related plays outperformed on the back of stronger gold and oil prices. Endeavor Mining and Evolution Mining bolstered 3.2 and 2.3 percent each, while Santos and Oil Search surged over 2 percent, respectively.

Banks were also firmer; National Australia Bank led gains with a 2.1 percent rally, while Australia and New Zealand Banking and Westpac soared 1.5 percent each.

Meanwhile, the prospect of further monetary easing has pushed the Australian dollar to near multi-year lows at USD 0.7583 against the US dollar.

Nikkei rises 1.1 percent

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index touched a one-week high, with energy and financial counters leading advances.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group advanced 2.5 and 1.7 percent, respectively, while Inpex and JX Holdings climbed 3.9 and 3.1 percent each.

Toshiba rose 0.6 percent, reversing a brief negative open, as markets monitored ts accounting probe. 
Loss-making electronics maker Sharp, which is reportedly planning to spin off its LCD panel business, charged up 2.5 percent.

Shanghai Comp up 0.9 percent

China’s Shanghai Composite index opened up to its highest level since March 2008 following a three-day weekend.

Among top gainers, train makers CSR and China CNR rose by the daily maximum allowable 10 percent, while media stocks like Shanghai Oriental Pearl and internet TV service operator BesTV New Media made gains of 6.5 percent each.

Markets in Hong Kong remain closed for the Ching Ming Festival.

Kospi gains 0.2 percent

South Korea’s Kospi index hovered near a six-month high, with the spotlight on Samsung Electronics, which forecast operating profit of 5.9 trillion won (USD 5.43 billion) for the January-March period.

The estimated number is above expectations of 5.3 trillion won in a Reuters poll, but down sharply from 8.5 trillion a year earlier. The guidance, released ahead of full quarterly results due later this month, also tipped revenue of 47 trillion won for first quarter, below expectations of 49.8 trillion.

The heaviest-weighted stock trimmed gains to 0.2 percent, after rallying 2.5 percent in the previous session.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Crushingly bad jobs number spooks markets

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Spooked by March’s crushingly weak jobs report, markets will be hyper-focused on any clues coming out of the Fed about whether a later rate hike is now more likely.

March’s report of just 126,000 nonfarm payrolls-about 120,00 less than expected-signals the potential for a rocky start to trading Monday.

The stock market was closed for Good Friday, but in morning trading, Dow futures dropped 165 points after the report. Bonds traded in an abridged session and yields fell dramatically with the 10-year dipping below 1.80 temporarily. The dollar also weakened—as thinly staffed trading desks bet the Fed will now delay hiking rates until the second half of the year.

Read More: What a bad jobs report means for stocks

“This just puts an exclamation mark on just how weak a quarter it’s been, and it should make one wonder if earnings estimates have been reduced sufficiently,” said Leo Grohowski, chief investment officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Grohowski said the poor jobs report, the weakest since December 2013, signals the Fed is likely to take its time raising rates. After the Fed’s March meeting, markets read the Fed statement and forecasts to mean a rate hike in September was more likely than June. The poor jobs number reinforced the time frame as September, or even later.

Read More: Jobs report signals Fed on hold until second half

Goldman Sachs economists said in a note that while they expect the first hike in September, the weak jobs report raises the risk of a later liftoff in rates.

The jobs report also makes the minutes from that last Fed meeting, released Wednesday, an even more important event in the coming week, as well as the comments from Fed speakers. New York Fed President William Dudley is the first Fed speaker of the week when he discusses the economy in Newark, New Jersey, Monday morning. His comments will be given added weight as he is viewed as closely aligned with Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said the Fed minutes may reveal more about how the Fed came to its decision to raise rates but also more about why it expects to go slowly. The jobs report “affirms Yellen’s dovishness relative to her cohorts. They want to get liftoff this year, but oh so gradually. They’ll be treading as if on thin ice,” she said.

“As we look at the minutes, it will affirm the doves’ view that we need more improvement in the labor market,” Swonk said. At that meeting, the Fed removed the word “patient” from its statement, signaling it was nearing a decision to raise rates but also that it would now rely heavily on economic data in its decision making.

Read More: Jobs creation big letdown in March

Swonk said it will be key to see what the Fed said about employment. “There are a lot of nuances to removing patience that didn’t really remove patience. They went from patience to caution,” she said.

The March employment report was the latest data to confirm sluggish first quarter growth, showing up in manufacturing and other data. Economists’ expectations for first quarter growth is now tracking at 1.3 percent, according to CNBC/Moody’s Analytics snap survey.

Even as economists expect a very weak first quarter, they also expect to see a rebound in the second quarter with growth pegged at more than 3 percent. It will be key to see if Fed officials see a change in the outlook, as that would affect expectations for the timing of a rate hike.

“We will see a spring back. We know some things are transitory. That’s the good news. Even as it’s transitory, new head winds are emerging. That’s the strong dollar and lower oil prices,” Swonk said.

Besides the Fed minutes, there is also a first trickle of quarterly earnings reports, starting Wednesday with Alcoa. Markets will also be watching the drama around Greece’s pending payment to the IMF.

“I presume (the Fed) was inching closer to doing something because they thought the numbers were particularly strong. Now, you’ve got a 69,000 revision (in January and February) and you’ve got a weak March number, so net, net things look 250,000 weaker,” said Amherst Pierpont global strategist Robert Sinche. He said the Fed’s path is now less clear. “The jury is very much out. You just don’t know how much of this is temporary factors.”

Grohowski said he still expects the Fed to boost the fed funds rate by 50 basis points by the end of the year, but liftoff will now be September at the earliest.

“We’re still in a market that, at some point, is going to have to deal with higher interest rates. Meanwhile, the earnings side is going to come into greater focus here,” he said. Both of those factors could create a more volatile environment for stocks this year.

Grohowski has favored big cap U.S. stocks since the bull market began six years ago but this is the first quarter where he is concerned that there’s a potential for stocks to become overvalued this year because of lower earnings growth and rising interest rates.

S&P 500 earnings for the first quarter are expected to decline nearly 3 percent, the first negative quarter in six years. The strengthening dollar and falling oil prices are two key factors biting into corporate profits and the economy.

“We are no doubt in a mini-earnings recession,” Grohowski said. He has not shifted his allocation of U.S. large cap stocks yet but would consider doing so when the S&P 500 reaches his 2,200 target.

“I think that the first quarter of the year gave us a very good window into what this year could be like as a whole and certainly what the next quarter will potentially be like,” he said.

Read More: First quarter ends but market volatility will not

In view of the potential for higher rates, Grohowski said price-to-earnings ratios have become stretched. Based on his earnings forecast, the S&P is looking at a P/E of 18 times.

The few economic reports in the week ahead include ISM nonmanufacturing data, JOLTs job openings data, weekly claims and wholesale trade. There are also auctions of 3- and 10-year notes as well as the 30-year bond.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian stocks mixed after US jobs; Samsung up nearly 3%

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian stocks posted a mixed open on Monday, following the absence of a lead from U.S. markets and as the closely-watched US nonfarm payrolls figure came in far below expectations.

Wall Street was shuttered for the Good Friday holiday last week, alongside major markets in Europe and most parts of Asia. Thinner trade is expected throughout Monday, as Australia and New Zealand remain closed for Easter Monday. Bourses in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are shut for the Ching Ming Festival, while Bangkok celebrates the Chakri Memorial Day.

Released at the end of last week, the United States added 126,000 jobs in March, the weakest since 2013 and below expectations of 245,000 in a Reuters poll. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent, in line with expectations, while wages increased slightly more than estimated at 0.3 percent. Equity futures were off about 1 percent on Friday.

The employment report affirms market views that September could be the earliest time frame for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates from record lows, analysts say.

“We do not view faster wage growth as a precondition to Fed tightening, although more rapid wage growth would certainly make the committee’s decision easier. We continue to forecast the first rate hike in September,” Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Barclays Capital, wrote in a note.

Nikkei drops 0.4 percent

Japan’s Nikkei 225 halved gains after briefly losing nearly 1 percent at the open.

Electronics makers were in focus; Sharp jumped 5.6 percent following news that the loss-making firm may spin off its LCD panel business and seek funding from government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). Sony advanced 1.2 percent despite the Nikkei business daily reported that the company may cut more than half of its management-level workers.

Automaker Toyota Motor notched down 0.7 percent after announcing plans to restart plant building following a three-year freeze. Media reports said the company plans to spend $1.25 billion on factories in Mexico and China.

Shares of Tomony Holdings rallied 3.8 percent on news that it is merging with Taisho Bank as early as next Spring, reported the Nikkei. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which holds a 25 percent stake in Taisho Bank, dropped 0.7 percent.

Kospi adds 0.3 percent

South Korea’s Kospi index reversed a tepid open to edge up an hour into trade, thanks to a 3 percent rally in its top weighted stock Samsung Electronics. Shares of the South Korean giant were up ahead of its first-quarter guidance due at 8.30 am local time on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors lost 0.6 percent, respectively, while Posco dropped 0.6 percent after having rallied in the previous session.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Goldman Sachs on oil: US needs to cut, not OPEC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The onus for restoring the oil price back to an equilibrium lies squarely on the shoulders of countries like the US and not on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a top Goldman Sachs analyst told CNBC.

Michele Della Vigna, head of European energy research at Goldman Sachs, said non-OPEC oil producers had created the oversupply in the market which has weighed on prices.

“I think the market has realized that where we need to find the adjustment is onshore US and that’s where the market is focused,” he told CNBC Thursday.

“The adjustment is starting to happen there. Clearly an OPEC cut would help getting to the equilibrium faster, but at the end of the day, it is non-OPEC that needs to sort out the oversupply that it has created.”

Weak global demand and booming US shale oil production are seen as two key reasons behind oil’s price plunge, which has fallen around 50 percent since mid-June last year. OPEC’s reluctance to cut its output at its last meeting in November has also weighed on the commodity.

OPEC, a group of 12 major oil producers which accounts for 40 percent of the world’s crude oil output, has continually iterated that the organization has no intention to meet again until June. But Della Vigna said he believes a cut in production at this meeting is even less likely than at November’s talks.

OPEC countries are able to extract oil from the ground at a cheaper cost than US shale firms, and there has been speculation that the two industries could be playing a “game of chicken” before cutting back to ease oversupply.

So far, the US has bared the brunt of the cut in production, with data from the EIA (Energy Information Administration) Wednesday showing a fall in the amount of rigs that are in operation and a drop in US output for the first time since late December.

This helped snap a three-day losing streak for oil, with gains of around USD 2. But the commodity edged lower again on Thursday morning, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures falling 0.13 percent to 49.95 a barrel by 9:00 a.m. London time, and Brent crude futures falling 0.2 percent to USD 56.91 a barrel.

Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear deal have also dented the price of oil over recent days, as talks overran a self-imposed deadline.

Any positive resolution is seen as negative for the commodity, as the lifting of sanctions could see Iran release yet more oil into an already oversupplied market. Tensions in Yemen have also complicated matters, with many analysts telling CNBC that violence in the Middle Eastern country is essentially a “proxy war” between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has extended his stay in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the Iran talks are taking place, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stated late Wednesday that the US would “walk away” if it sensed that the talks were stalling.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad, Javad Zarif, told reporters Wednesday that there are obvious problems that have prevented a solution so far, but he added that he hoped his international colleagues would recognize that this was a “unique opportunity that will not be repeated.”

Goldman’s Della Vigna reiterated his call for Brent to find an “equilibrium” of USD 70 by year-end, but also said that the near-term risk is for the commodity to fall to USD 40 a barrel during the summer months.

He added that a “super spike” to above USD 100 a barrel was becoming increasingly unlikely and said that USD 25 a barrel for oil was also not a likely scenario.

Amrita Sen, a chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC Wednesday oil prices were unlikely to fall much lower than their current levels. She argued that demand for the commodity was “phenomenal” and was absorbing a lot of the oil that was being produced.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Greek reforms: Right direction or road to ruin?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Greece may have put together an updated list of reform proposals, but as its new government finds it more difficult to secure concessions, there are still fears the country could crash out of the euro zone.

The contents of the new reforms list, which has been published by the Greek press and involves raising an extra 4.7-6.1 billion euros (USD 5.09-USD 6.61 billion) in government revenues, represents “a clear step in the right direction” according to economists at Barclays Capital.

Read more: No ‘bad thing’ if Greece leaves euro: Warren Buffett

This means that, in effect, the Greek government has offered some concession to European authorities on the continuing wrangles over the austerity measures imposed as part of its bailout.

Since Greece elected a new government in January, led by the left-wing Syriza party, which promised to bring an end to austerity, the tone of its negotiations with international creditors has changed, raising fears that it may end up defaulting on its debt repayments and exiting the euro zone.

What is certain is that Greece still needs external financial support, particularly the 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds which it hopes to unlock from its international lenders. To date, Greece has received two bailouts worth a total of 240 billion euros.

Its lenders are keeping up the pressure on Greek politicians to reach a compromise. On Wednesday, the European Central Bank raised Greece’s emergency liquidity by a modest 700 million euros to 71.8 billion euros, which Rabobank strategists argued continues “a strategy whereby Greece’s leeway in terms of liquidity is strictly rationed.”

Read more: Is Russia Greece’s last hope of survival?

While it has cut government spending, Greece has also suffered from falling tax revenues, which means that its deficit figures are worse than its targets, and its deficit was still rising at the end of February.

The other peripheral euro zone economies which were bailed out during the credit crisis are in various stages of recovery, but Greece has lagged behind.

“Greece’s budget consolidation is unravelling,” Jessica Hinds, European economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note.

Read more: Why markets may shrug off a Greek tragedy

Greece is due to pay 460 million euros to the International Monetary Fund on April 9.

There are also concerns that the new Greek plans are too optimistic about how effective a mooted clampdown on fraud and tax evasion could be.

“Given the historical difficulty (recently exacerbated) that the Greek government has experienced in collecting tax revenue, we highlight significant uncertainty as to the effective capacity of new fiscal measures to match their revenue targets,” the Barclays Capital economists pointed out.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian stocks kick off Q2 with a soft open after mixed data

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian stock markets traded mixed on the first trading day of the second quarter following a mixed bag of economic data releases.

China’s official March manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI) unexpectedly edged up to 50.1 in March from February’s 49.9, a tad above the 50-mark that that separates growth from contraction. The reading is better than the March HSBC final PMI, also released Wednesday, which showed the nation’s vast manufacturing sector in contraction. The 49.6 final print, however, is stronger than the preliminary figure of 49.2.

Wednesday also sees a weaker-than-expected reading of sentiment among Japanese corporates. The headline big manufacturers index remained unchanged from the previous quarter at +12, below expectations for a reading of +14 in a Reuters poll, the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey showed.

Wall Street set the cautious mood by closing lower overnight, as investors eyed mixed economic data and the end of the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.1 percent and was the only index to decline during the January-March period. The S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.9 percent each in the previous session, but managed to post gains of 3.48 and 0.44 percent last quarter.

Nikkei falls 0.5 percent

Japan’s Nikkei 225 recovered from an earlier three-week low, but the yen remained on a downtrend, losing more grounds against the greenback at 119.59.

Exporters were lower across the board; carmakers like Toyota Motor and Nissan sagged 1.9 and 2.3 percent each, while other blue-chips like Canon and Mitsubishi Electric eased 1.5 and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Financials like Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo MitsuiFinancial Group were also more than 1 percent weaker.

Shanghai Comp adds 0.1 percent

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index posted a tepid open following the release of two PMI data, which showed a mixed picture in the country’s manufacturing sector.

Beijing unveiled further tax breaks and relaxed lending rules late Monday in a bid to shore up its wobbly property sector. The new policy changes follow three monetary stimulus injections by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) since November 2014. On the back of fresh easing, the benchmark index rallied to a new seven-year high in the previous session before closing down due to profit-taking.

ASX drops 0.5 percent

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index declined as a majority of stocks surrendered Tuesday’s gains.

Iron miners were stung after the steel-making raw material languished at fresh six-year lows of USD 51 a tonne overnight. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals dropped more than 2 percent, respectively, while junior players like BC Iron and Atlas Iron plunged 5.4 and 3.9 percent each.

Bucking the downtrend, Macquarie Group and Telstra elevated 0.7 and 0.5 percent, respectively, providing some relief to the bourse.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar last traded at USD 0.7644 against the US dollar, moving further away from a six-year low of USD 0.7558 touched on March 11, on the back of a rise in factory activity in the mainland.

Kospi loses 0.5 percent

South Korea’s Kospi index retreated further, with its heavyweights trading in negative territory. Hyundai Motor and steelmaker Posco notched down over 2 percent each, while Samsung Electronics and utility Kepco shed 0.8 and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Weaker-than-expected domestic data also damped sentiment in early trade. The country’s manufacturing activity and new export orders contracted in March, according to the HSBC/Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI), indicating further signs of a struggling recovery in South Korea. Meanwhile, house prices rose by 0.4 percent in the same month, faster than a 0.23 percent gain in February, data from the country’s top mortgage lender Kookmin Bank showed.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow