Showing posts with label Hang Seng Index. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hang Seng Index. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

Asian shares stumble as China extends declines amid trade tensions

Asian Stock Markets

Asian stocks traded mostly lower on Tuesday, with greater China markets extending their declines as investor worries over Beijing's trade relations with the U.S. soured sentiment in the region.

China markets pulled back, extending the last session's sharp declines. The Shanghai composite sank 1.27 percent after touching two-year lows in the last session and the Shenzhen composite pulled back by 1.36 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 3.08 percent as markets there reopened for trade after a holiday, with the energy and services sectors leading losses. Heavily weighted financials also slumped, with HSBC down 2.79 percent, while technology blue chip Tencent dropped 2.74 percent.

Asian stocks traded mostly lower on Tuesday, with greater China markets extending their declines as investor worries over Beijing's trade relations with the U.S. soured sentiment in the region.

China markets pulled back, extending the last session's sharp declines. The Shanghai composite sank 1.27 percent after touching two-year lows in the last session and the Shenzhen composite pulled back by 1.36 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 3.08 percent as markets there reopened for trade after a holiday, with the energy and services sectors leading losses. Heavily weighted financials also slumped, with HSBC down 2.79 percent, while technology blue chip Tencent dropped 2.74 percent.
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Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 turned lower, declining 0.65 percent after earlier retracing some of the sharp declines seen in the overnight session. Airlines and oil producers clung to gains, while most other sectors eased.

In South Korea, the Kospi edged down by 0.37 percent. Manufacturers and technology plays were mixed, with Samsung Electronics gaining 0.99 percent while steelmaker Posco lost 2.06 percent. The S&P/ASX 200, however, bucked the broader trend to rise 0.51 percent.

Meanwhile, MSCI's index of stocks in Asia Pacific outside of Japan sank 1.22 percent in Asia morning trade.

Investors were cautious as markets continued to watch developments on the trade front. A looming July 6 deadline is set to see the U.S. impose a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods from more than 800 product categories. China has also announced that it will retaliate with duties on the same value of U.S. products.

"While we still think that a full-blown trade war is unlikely, the harsh rhetoric and punitive measures have reached a point that warrants serious consideration of such eventualities," Tamur Baig, chief economist at DBS Bank, said in a note. He added that the U.S. would likely be hurt more than China if a trade war ensues, given how China's retaliation can be on multiple fronts and the U.S. is involved in more than one trade spat.

The U.S. is also engaged in disputes on trade issues with other key trading partners, including Canada and the European Union. The U.S. could face tariffs from the European Union on as much as $300 billion in U.S. goods if the Trump administration proceeds with imposing duties on European cars, the Financial Times reported.

Markets in Europe and Asia closed lower in the previous session amid the concerns over trade, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 declining 0.84 percent. Asian stock indexes saw steeper losses as China markets resumed their slide after getting some reprieve at the end of last week, with the Shanghai composite dropping 2.52 percent on Monday.

Amid the market moves ahead of that July 6 deadline for tariffs, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC there was no "bright line level of the stock market" that would change U.S. President Donald Trump's mind on trade policy.

Those jitters also overshadowed the moderate gains made on Wall Street overnight, with U.S. stocks closing in positive territory after dipping early in the overnight session on trade concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.15 percent, or 35.77 points, to close at 24,307.18.

Investor jitters over trade concerns, meanwhile, supported the greenback. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies, traded at 94.925 at 11:24 a.m. HK/SIN after rising above the 95 handle in the overnight session. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 110.86.

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

Asian markets track European losses, strong yen hits Nikkei

Asian Stock Markets

Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday, tracking losses in Europe, where investor confidence was sapped by political uncertainty in Italy. U.S. markets were closed Monday for a holiday.


Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent to finish at 22,358.43 while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 2,457.25. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent to 30,519.29.

The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.5 percent to 3,120.46. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 6,013.60. Stocks in Taiwan and the Philippines were lower. Many Southeast Asian markets were closed for holidays.

Italy’s president vetoed a euroskeptic candidate for economy minister proposed by leaders of two populist parties that were trying to form a government. President Sergio Mattarella said Sunday he was refusing to appoint Paolo Savona, whose policies could rattle nervous markets and further inflate the country’s staggering debt load.

Instead, he named an economist, Carlo Cottarelli, to lead the country until new elections. While avoiding a populist government that investors had worried about, the move means more political uncertainty.

Diplomacy accelerated Tuesday ahead of a potential summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a team of American diplomats involved in preparatory discussions left a Seoul hotel, possibly to continue talks with their North Korean counterparts.

In Beijing, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol planned to head to the United States. He would be the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years.

Benchmark U.S. crude plunged $1.12, or 1.7 percent, to $66.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract settled at $67.88 per barrel, down $2.83, on Monday. It dropped 4 percent on Friday, battered by reports that OPEC countries and Russia could start pumping more oil soon. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 19 cents to $75.51 per barrel in London.

The dollar slipped to 108.92 yen from 109.42 yen while the euro fell to $1.1593 from $1.162.