Month: September 2015

Google expands Android Wear smartwatch platform to iOS

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

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 decline on weak US finish, China twin PMIs

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian stocks declined early Tuesday, following a negative lead from Wall Street and as investors digested the slew of economic data out of China.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edged down to 49.7 in August from 50 in July, just below the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction. The final Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 47.3 in August, above a preliminary reading of 47.1 but down from 47.8 in July.

Overnight, US equity markets ended in the red to chalk up their worst month since 2012. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.07 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 dropped 0.69 and 0.84 percent, respectively.

In early Asian trade, S&P futures eased 1.1 percent while Dow futures fell 190 points.

Mainland markets drop

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index extended losses to ease 2.3 percent from the get-go. In the previous session, the index closed down 0.8 percent to end down 12.5 percent for August, chalking up its third straight month of declines.

Among China’s other indexes, the blue-chip CSI300 and smaller Shenzhen Composite tumbled 2.6 percent each.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened down 0.5 percent on the first trading day of September, after registering its worst performance in nearly four years in August.

Nikkei loses 1.3 percent

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index followed U.S. markets lower in early trade. A slight tick-up in the yen also hurt buying interest in export-oriented stocks.

Among automakers, Suzuki Motor led losses with a 4.2 percent slump. Panasonic and Sony tumbled 2.2 and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Index heavyweights contributed significant downside on the bourse, with Fast Retailing and Fanuc losing more than 1 percent each.

ASX drops 0.6 percent

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index put up a subdued open ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) policy decision. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 2 percent at its monthly meeting.

Financials and heavyweight Telstra were among the early-trade decliners. National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking and Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped between 0.2 and 0.8 percent, while shares of the telecommunications giant dropped 0.6 percent.

Energy counters rocketed in tandem with the 8.8 percent gain in oil prices overnight. Santos and Oil Search advanced more than 3 percent each, while Woodside Petroleum rose 2.3 percent.

Atlas Iron shot up 7.7 percent on the back of news of a management overhaul.

Kospi slips 0.5 percent

South Korea’s Kospi index edged down, as most blue-chip plays kicked off the day on the back foot.

Steelmaker Posco slumped 1.3 percent and chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 2.7 percent. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors opened down more than 1 percent each, while the index’s top weighted stock Samsung Electronics ticked up 0.2 percent.

KLCI rises 1 percent

Malaysian stocks outperformed the region, up more than 2 percent at the open, despite a rally in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend heightening pressure over scandal-ridden Prime Minister Najib Razak. The ringgit also gained ground against the greenback, rising 0.5 percent to 4.1720, its highest level since August 21.

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