Month: February 2018

Asian markets trade mixed after Wall Street’s Friday rebound; oil prices edge up

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

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Asian markets were mixed early on Monday while oil prices edged up after recording six straight days of declines.

South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.54 percent, with heavily weighted technology stocks higher in the morning. Samsung Electronics rebounded 1.43 percent and SK Hynix gained 0.82 percent. Financials also traded higher in the early going.

Shipbuilders were mostly in negative territory, with Samsung Heavy down 1.81 percent. Hyundai Heavy Industries was flat after it reported a miss on fourth-quarter earnings on Friday after the market close.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.64 percent as earnings season continued Down Under. Energy-related stocks were down 1.06 percent in the morning after oil prices slid for the sixth straight session on Friday. Santos fell 1.24 percent and Beach Energy lost 3.31 percent.

Gold producers were also weak: Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining were down 1.22 percent and 3.23 percent, respectively. Australian retailers were in the red, with Myer underperforming its peers in the sector and trading down 4.7 percent early on.

The heavily weighted financials sub-index was off by 0.64 percent.

Japanese markets are closed on Monday in observance of a public holiday.

Heavy declines were seen in Asian markets last week: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower by 2.32 percent in the previous session and was down 11.38 percent from its 52-week high as of Friday.

Greater China markets were some of the worst performers last week, with the Shanghai composite down 12.75 percent from its 52-week high and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 11.88 percent below its 52-week high as of Friday.

Those losses mirrored declines seen stateside on investor concerns over rising interest rates. The global rout in stock markets began earlier this month when the Dow lost 666 points after a stronger-than-expected jobs report saw U.S. bond yields rise.

Markets stateside closed higher in the last session although last week was their worst in two years. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 330.44 points, or 1.38 percent, to finish the day at 24,190.90.

Despite those gains, the Dow still finished the week lower by 5.2 percent.

“The severity of the falls globally … suggest we may have already seen the worst, but with bond yields likely to go back up further and uncertainty about how much the unwinding of short volatility positions has to go, further weakness cannot be ruled out in the short term,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at chief economist of AMP Capital, said in a Friday note.

Still, in the absence of a recession, “the pullback is just another correction,” Oliver added.

Also of note, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a roughly $300 billion budget plan into law after the US Congress passed the bill earlier that day.

On the commodities front, oil prices were steady after sinking on Friday for a sixth straight day. Those declines came on the back of rising production and the firmer dollar last week.

US West Texas Intermediate edged up 0.29 percent to trade at USD 59.37 per barrel after falling below the USD 59 level on Friday for the first time this year. Brent crude futures inched higher by 0.06 percent to trade at USD 62.83.

In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of rivals, stood at 90.352. Against the yen, the dollar was mostly stable at 108.77 at 8:06 a.m. HK/SIN.

The Australian dollar was steady at USD 0.7821.

What’s on tap

Here’s the economic calendar for Monday (all times in HK/SIN):

1:00 p.m.: Singapore retail sales
5:00 p.m.: China new yuan loans
8:00 p.m.: India industrial output
8:00 p.m.: India January Consumer Price Index

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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

European stocks fall 3% at the open as global sell-off continues

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

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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

Global sell-off continues into Asia with Japan and Hong Kong plunging

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

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Asian indexes tumbled and U.S. stock indexes fell on Tuesday following massive losses seen stateside in the last session.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 6.71 percent, or 1,522.70 points, as stocks across sectors pulled back. Automakers, financials and technology names were lower in the morning, with Toyota down 4.75 percent.

Among other blue chips, SoftBank Group tumbled 7.94 percent and Fanuc Manufacturing lost 7.86 percent. Fast Retailing sank 8.14 percent.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi declined 2.61 percent. Blue chip technology names were lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down 2.21 percent and 1.57 percent early in the session. Among automakers, Hyundai Motor traded briefly in positive territory, but later slipped 2.2 percent.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 3.65 percent on broad-based selling across sectors. The energy sub-index was among the worst-performing in the morning, falling 5.1 percent as energy-related stocks declined following oil prices’ move lower. Santos fell 5.02 percent and Oil Search lost 4.17 percent.

The heavily weighted financials sector was also sharply lower, with Australia’s “Big Four” banks trading in negative territory on the day. ANZ was down 3.31 percent and Westpac tumbled 3.58 percent.

The Hang Seng Index was down 4.94 percent as stocks sold off across sectors. Among financials, heavyweight HSBC fell 3.14 percent and China Construction Bank lost 6.55 percent. Tech giant Tencent tumbled 5.9 percent. Energy-related stocks also extended declines on Tuesday, with CNOOC tumbling 6.79 percent.

Mainland stocks, which had risen in the last session, followed the region lower on Tuesday. The Shanghai composite slid 2.15 percent and the Shenzhen composite lost 2.71 percent.

Other market indexes in the region also took a beating on Tuesday: Taiwan’s Taiex lost 5.6 percent, Vietnam’s benchmark VN Index fell 5.87 percent and Malaysia’s KLCI tumbled 2.7 percent.

New Zealand markets were closed for a public holiday.

US futures point to continued sell-off

Dow futures were down 826 points, and S&P 500 futures were lower by 76.5 points as of 12:25 p.m. HK/SIN. The implied open for the Dow, based on the futures, was a decline of more than 1,200 points.

The sell off in U.S. stock markets on Monday was a continuation of Friday’s weakness as investors rushed for the exits in the wake of rising interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, to close at 24,345.75, breaking below the 25,000 level. The 30-stock index briefly declined more than 1,500 points on Monday and traveled more than 5,100 points during the session.

“There was no specific catalyst outside of stops being triggered at 25,000 and when that happened, the Dow briefly plunged below 24,000, but concerns about the negative impact of rising yields have been the primary driver of the sell-off that began on Friday,” Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a note.

Correspondingly, U.S. government bond prices rose overnight on safe-haven demand. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note last stood at 2.7093 percent after rising as high as 2.88 percent on Monday.

Meanwhile, on the economic front, Australia’s central bank on Tuesday kept interest rates unchanged at 1.5 percent. In a statement, the Reserve Bank of Australia also said it expected a gradual pick-up in inflation in the economy.

also cited In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of rivals, stood at 89.651. Against the yen, the greenback extended losses to trade at 108.51, below an overnight low of 108.97.

The Australian dollar was softer at $0.7839.

On the energy front, oil prices extended losses after declining in the last session on the firmer dollar. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.18 percent to trade at $63.39 per barrel and Brent crude futures lost 1.11 percent to trade at $66.87.

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

Asian shares tumble; Nikkei slips 5%, Hang Seng falls 3.2%

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

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Asian indexes tumbled early on Tuesday, mirroring massive losses seen stateside in the last session when the Dow fell more than 1,100 points and the S&P saw its worst day in six years.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 4.95 percent as stocks across sectors pulled back. Automakers, financials and technology names were lower in the morning, with Toyota down 3.77 percent.

Among other blue chips, SoftBank Group tumbled 5 percent and Fanuc Manufacturing lost 5.36 percent. Fast Retailing sank 5.16 percent.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi declined 2.26 percent. Blue chip technology names were lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down 1.63 percent and 1.85 percent early in the session. Among automakers, Hyundai Motor traded briefly in positive territory, but later slipped 0.63 percent.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 3.03 percent on broad-based selling across sectors. The energy sub-index was among the worst-performing in the morning, falling 4.24 percent as energy-related stocks declined following oil prices’ move lower overnight. Santos fell 4.54 percent and Oil Search lost 3.06 percent.

The heavily weighted financials sector was also sharply lower, with Australia’s “Big Four” banks trading in negative territory on the day. ANZ was down 3.03 percent and Westpac tumbled 3.29 percent.

The Hang Seng Index was down 3.15 percent in early trade. On the mainland, the Shanghai composite slid 1.52 percent and the Shenzhen composite lost 1.78 percent.

The sell off in US stock markets on Monday was a continuation of Friday’s weakness as investors rushed for the exits in the wake of rising interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, to close at 24,345.75, breaking below the 25,000 level. The 30-stock index briefly declined more than 1,500 points on Monday and traveled more than 5,100 points during the session.

Other major indexes also recorded losses on the day: The S&P 500 lost 4.1 percent to finish at 2,468.94 and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.78 percent to finish the session at 6,967.53.

“There was no specific catalyst outside of stops being triggered at 25,000 and when that happened, the Dow briefly plunged below 24,000, but concerns about the negative impact of rising yields have been the primary driver of the sell-off that began on Friday,” Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, said in a note.

Correspondingly, US government bond prices rose overnight on safe-haven demand. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note last stood at 2.7093 percent after rising as high as 2.88 percent on Monday.

In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of rivals, stood at 89.610. Against the yen, the greenback paused to trade at 109.08, after falling as low as 108.98 overnight.

The Australian dollar was mostly steady at USD 0.7876.

On the energy front, oil prices extended losses after declining in the last session on firmer dollar. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1 percent to trade at USD 63.51 per barrel and Brent crude futures lost 0.92 percent to trade at USD 67.

What’s on tap

Here’s the economic calendar for Tuesday (all times in HK/SIN):

11:30 a.m.: Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision
4:00 p.m.: Taiwan inflation rate

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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

Asia markets trade lower; major indexes in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China fall

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

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Asia markets fell across the board in Monday morning trade, following a sharp decline in US stocks on Friday amid a stronger-than-expected jobs report that sent interest rates higher.

In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 1.41 percent to 6,034.80 in late-morning trade, with most sectors trading lower. The heavily weighted financial subindex was down 1.26 percent, while the energy and materials sectors fell 2.39 percent and 1.96 percent, respectively.

The biggest banking names in the country fell: Shares of ANZ were down 1.48 percent, Commonwealth Bank declined 1.15 percent, Westpac was down 1.45 percent and the National Australia Bank fell 1.42 percent.

Major Australian miners were also down. Rio Tinto shares fell 2.1 percent, Fortescue was down 1 percent and BHP Billiton declined 2.66 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.33 percent in morning trade, while the Topix index was down 2.07 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.58 percent.

Chinese mainland markets opened lower, with the Shanghai composite down 0.62 percent in early trade. The Shenzhen composite fell 0.82 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 2.01 percent.

Elsewhere, US futures fell notably as Wall Street looked to add to the large losses set last week. The Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 155 points at 9:39 a.m. HK/SIN, after briefly falling more than 250 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell 11.25 points and 21.5 points, respectively.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the US economy added 200,000 jobs in January. That number was higher than the 180,000 jobs expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Wages, meanwhile, rose 2.9 percent on an annualized basis. The report sent Treasury yields higher, adding to investor concerns that interest rates may be rising too fast.

One analyst said the move in the US market still had some way to go — and that the pullback will continue to affect most equity markets.

“The past week has seen shares come under pressure as Fed rate hike expectations increased, partly reflecting an acceleration in US wages growth, and the bond yield rose sharply,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital, said in a Monday morning note.

“It’s likely the pullback has further to go as investors adjust to more Fed tightening than currently assumed — we see four (or possibly five) Fed rate hikes this year against market expectations for three — and higher bond yields,” he added.

In the currency market, the Japanese yen traded at 109.90 to the dollar, strengthening from an earlier low of 110.29.

Some of the major export stocks traded lower: Shares of Toyota fell 1.42 percent, Mitsubishi Motors declined 1.7 percent and Canon was down 2.98 percent. Honda shares, however, rose 2.47 percent, beating the broader market trend after the carmarker raised its full fiscal year profit forecast on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar traded at USD 0.7925, climbing from an earlier session low of USD 0.7887.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, traded at 89.187 at 9:48 a.m. HK/SIN after falling below 88.800 in the previous week.

On the data front, China’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in almost six years, according to a private survey, Reuters reported. The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.7 in January from December’s 53.9, the highest reading since May 2012, according to Reuters.

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

Most markets in Asia decline following rise in US bond yields

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

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Asian shares came under pressure early on Friday after Wall Street closed mixed and yields on US government debt rose in the last session.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.75 percent after snapping a six-day losing streak in the previous session. Technology names were mostly lower, with heavyweight SoftBank falling 0.95 percent.

Among other large cap names, Fanuc Manufacturing shed 0.2 percent and Fast Retailing lost 1.59 percent. Airlines were also lower on the day, with ANA Holdings down 3.64 percent in the morning.

Shares of Nomura Holdings were down 2.04 percent, underperforming other financials, after the company announced third-quarter earnings on Thursday. Net income for the quarter rose around 25 percent on year to 88 billion yen ($804.8 million).

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi fell 0.96 percent as declines in blue chip tech names drove the index lower. Samsung Electronics lost 2.73 percent, SK Hynix declined 1.61 percent and Samsung SDI fell 3.47 percent following the release of tech earnings stateside overnight.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 reversed early losses to edge higher by 0.2 percent. The energy and gold sectors were among the best-performing in the early going, climbing 1.76 percent and 1.34 percent, respectively. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index edged up 0.36 percent.

On the earnings front, notable names due to report results include Sony, Honda Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

US stocks ended the last session mostly lower following a session of choppy trade, which also saw bond yields climb. On Thursday, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond crossed the 3 percent level for the first time since May while the 10-year yield rose as high as 2.792 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.14 percent, or 37.32 points, to close at 26,186.71. Other major indexes eased slightly.

Investors stateside also digested the Thursday release of lower-than-expected fourth-quarter US productivity figures. Ahead, markets will be keeping an eye on the release of US nonfarm payrolls numbers due during US hours.

Currency watch

In currencies, the dollar held onto overnight gains against the yen to trade at 109.42 at 8:31 a.m. HK/SIN.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, slid below the 89 handle to trade at 88.671 on Thursday. The move came as the euro rose to trade above the USD 1.25 level. On Friday, the common currency stood at USD 1.2502 after rising as high as USD 1.2522 overnight.

Meanwhile, oil prices extended gains: US crude futures rose 0.73 percent to trade at USD 66.27 per barrel. Brent crude, which had yet to trade, gained 1.1 percent to settle at USD 69.65 on Thursday.

Corporate news

New York-listed Alibaba announced Thursday that third-quarter revenue rose 56 percent, which was above what analysts were forecasting. The e-commerce giant said in a statement that it would take on a 33 percent stake in its payments arm, Ant Financial.

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

India’s banks have a bad loan problem, but financial experts still see opportunity

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