Stocks Drop in Asia as Facebook data flap spooks tech stocks

Asian Stock Markets

Stocks in Asia fell, following U.S. equities lower after a sell-off in technology shares bruised trader sentiment before a key Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Equities fell from Japan to Australia and technology stocks were the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. U.S. shares slumped as the best performing sector this year was roiled by reports of a Facebook Inc. data breach and Apple Inc. efforts to develop its own screens.

After the bell, Oracle Corp. reported sales that underwhelmed investors and Nasdaq futures remained lower. Currencies were steady along with 10-year Treasury yields.

The tech sell-off, that began in Asia on Monday and deepened during the Europe and U.S. sessions, sent jitters through equity markets at the start of a busy week that culminates in the first U.S. interest rate decision under new Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Powell has hinted to investors that he’s open to lifting the policy rate four times this year, rather than the three currently reflected in dot-plot forecasts. Some on Wall Street expect the median projection to rise to four at Wednesday’s meeting, while others say there will be no change following a round of mediocre data and policy makers’ stated intentions to move gradually.

Japan’s Topix index fell 0.7 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.9 percent as of 12:30 p.m. in Tokyo.

South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 0.6 percent.

Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.3 percent.

The yen fell 0.1 percent to 106.24 per dollar.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was steady at 2.85 percent.  

NZX seeks closer ties with Hong Kong Exchange with memorandum of understanding

New Zealand Stock Market News

NZX has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing to investigate broader regional product development, and both have one eye firmly on green finance and sustainability initiatives

The Wellington-based stock market operator and its Hong Kong counterpart want to promote market development in a range of areas including foreign investment, derivatives, depositary receipts, listed debt, dual listings, and exchange-traded funds, NZX said in a statement.

 The companies will also share information for green finance and offer staff secondments to bolster their understanding of each other's market.

This supports the New Zealand exchange’s commitment to increase its international presence as outlined in NZX’s recently released strategy NZX chair James Miller said. It highlights NZX’s desire to expand the reach and connection of the New Zealand market.

The deal follows soundings from New Zealand's stock market operator that it needed to make it easier for overseas companies to join NZX as a secondary listing among a handful of proposals to refocus the firm on driving shareholder value and reinvigorating the local capital market.

The tie-up on green finance also hits one of NZX's goals to leverage a growing drive for sustainability with the establishment of a green bond market.
 
NZX shares fell 1.8 percent to $1.11, having increased 2.8 percent over the past 12 months.
(BusinessDesk)

Asia stocks off record highs as Wall St. flags, dollar firms on higher yields

Asian Stock Markets

Asian stocks retreated from record highs on Tuesday after a selloff in Apple shares knocked Wall Street lower, while the dollar found support as U.S. bond yields climbed to near four-year highs. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 percent after rising to an all-time high the previous day.

Australian stocks shed 0.4 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.1 percent and Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2 percent and Shanghai was down 0.3 percent.
The bearish sentiment in Asia followed a softer lead from Wall Street, which has led a global equities rally over the past year thanks to strong world growth fuelling higher corporate earnings and stock valuations.

On Monday, U.S. stocks pulled back from record highs, with the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes marking their biggest one-day percentage declines in about five months, weighed down by a slide in Apple shares. [.N]

The dollar, however, enjoyed a reprieve from some persistent selling in the past few weeks.

Buoyed by higher U.S. bond yields, the dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.2 percent higher at 89.470, having bounced overnight from a three-year low of 88.438 plumbed on Friday when peers like the euro outshone the greenback.

The 10-year Treasury note yield stretched its overnight surge above 2.70 percent and reached its highest since April 2014 after comments from a European Central Bank official added to expectations that central banks globally will reduce stimulus as the economic outlook improves. [US/]

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday that it expects to borrow $441 billion through the credit markets in the January-March quarter, less than announced previously.

Treasury yields remained elevated, however, as U.S. borrowing is expected to continue increasing steadily in the coming years as the federal government looks for ways to fund budget deficits.

Moreover, the bond market braced for potentially hawkish language from the Federal Reserve, which will begin its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

The focus was also on U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address scheduled later in the global day, with attention on his views on an infrastructure overhaul and trade.

The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.2367 after slipping overnight from a three-year peak of $1.2538.

The dollar rose 0.2 percent to 109.110 yen following its descent to a four-month low of 108.280 on Friday.

Asia stocks rise for 11th straight session, Trump helps dollar bounce

Asia Stock Markets

Asian stocks extended their winning run to the 11th day on Friday, while the battered dollar won back some ground after President Donald Trump said he wanted a strong U.S. currency. 

European shares are expected to open higher, with spread-betters foreseeing a 0.3 percent gain in Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's Cac .FCHI and a 0.4 percent rise in Britain's FTSE .FTSE.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.25 percent for the day, led by gains in Chinese financial and property shares.

It headed for its 11th straight day of gains, the longest sequence since 2015, and also for seventh straight week of gains for the first time since 2010.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 ended down 0.2 percent.

World equity markets have rallied over the past year, buoyed by a synchronised uptick in global economic growth in a boon to corporate profits and stock valuations.

Australian markets were closed for a public holiday.

The Dow .DJI and S&P 500 .SPX ended at their highest closing levels ever on Thursday although Wall Street relinquished bigger intraday gains after President Trump's strong dollar comments.[.N]
Trump said on Thursday he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong, contradicting comments made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin one day earlier.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was at 89.034 .DXY. It had sunk to a three-year low of 88.438 on Thursday after Mnuchin said he welcomed a weaker greenback, which the markets initially took as Washington’s departure from its strong dollar policy.

The euro was 0.2 percent higher at $1.2426 EUR= but still some distance from $1.2538, its highest since December 2014 scaled on Thursday.

The common currency had soared to the fresh three-year high on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said economic data pointed to “solid and broad” growth with inflation likely to rise in the medium term from subdued levels.


Draghi also said the recent surge in the euro was a source of uncertainty, although this had little impact on the currency as some market participants had expected the ECB chief to use stronger language.

The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 109.42 yen JPY=, though it rebounded from a four-month low of 108.500 set the previous day.

The pound was 0.5 percent higher at $1.4205 GBP=D3 following its ascent to a 1-1/2-year high of $1.4346 the previous day.

The Australian dollar climbed 0.5 percent to $0.8059 AUD=D4, edging back towards a four-month peak of set $0.8119 overnight.

Even if the Trump administration does push for a weaker dollar, the current U.S. monetary policy trend was expected to complicate the agenda.

The Fed conducted three rate hikes in 2017 and is expected to tighten as many as three more times in 2018.

Oil prices fell ahead of the end of the peak-demand winter season in the northern hemisphere, although ongoing supply cuts and the weakening dollar offered broad support to the market.

U.S. crude futures CLc1 were 0.1 percent lower at $65.43 per barrel after reaching $66.66 on Thursday, highest since December 2014.

Spot gold XAU= was a shade higher at $1,354 per ounce after sliding 0.8 percent overnight. It set $1,366.06 earlier on Thursday, its highest since August 2016.

Asia shares take a breather

Asian Stock Markets

Asian share markets took a time out on Wednesday as investors were left breathless at the breakneck pace of recent gains, while a fresh burst of speculative selling took the U.S. dollar to three-year lows on the euro. 

 

Most Asian stock indices are up anywhere from 5 to 10 percent since the start of the year with many at all-time highs.

Early Wednesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS eased 0.2 percent, having jumped 1.2 percent on Tuesday to an all-time peak.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.8 percent as the yen strengthened, though that was from a 26-year top.

Figures out of Japan showed exports growing for a 13th straight month, led by record demand from China and Asia as a whole, while manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in almost four years.

Investors looked to have largely shaken off worries about a trade war, sparked when U.S. President Donald Trump’s slapped steep import tariffs on washing machines and solar panels in a move condemned by China and South Korea.

Korea's main index .KS11 was flat, while China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 dipped 0.1 percent. The latter is still up more than 8 percent on the year so far and near its highest since mid-2015.

On Wall Street, a 10 percent surge in Netflix (NFLX.O) led gains across the tech sector as it became just the latest to top market forecasts. So far, 82 percent of reporting companies have beaten estimates.

The Nasdaq .IXIC ended Tuesday with gains of 0.71 percent and the S&P 500 .SPX 0.22 percent, while the Dow .DJI edged down a tiny 0.01 percent.


In currency markets, the dollar remained under fire as investors wagered the Federal Reserve would be far from the only central bank to tighten this year as growth spread more widely.

The sea change has been greatest in Europe where a survey of consumers overnight showed confidence jumped to a 17-year high in January.

The upbeat data only reinforced speculation the European Central Bank might take a step toward an eventual tightening at its policy meeting on Thursday.

That helped lift to euro to another three-year top at $1.2335 EUR=, and it was last trading at $1.2320. The dollar made a matching trough against a basket of major currencies at 89.917 .DXY.

It also ran into selling against the yen even though the Bank of Japan tried hard on Tuesday to quash talk it might curb its massive asset buying campaign anytime soon.

The dollar was last down 0.36 percent at 109.90 JPY=, having breached support at 110.00 for the first time since September.

The British pound GBP= powered up as far as $1.4048, its highest since the vote to leave the European Union in June 2016, aided by optimism around Britain's chances of securing a favourable Brexit deal. [GBP/]

The dollar’s decline has been a boon to commodities priced in the currency, with gold edging up to $1,341.26 an ounce XAU=.

Oil prices were consolidating after jumping more than 1 percent on Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude hitting $70 a barrel for the first time in a week.

Brent futures LCOc1 were off 14 cents at $69.82, still not far from the three-year high of $70.37 reached on Jan. 15, while U.S. crude CLc1 eased 4 cents to $64.43 a barrel.

Asia markets close mixed as sell-off in Chinese stocks eases

Asian Stock Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, following a quiet overnight trading session with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Chinese stocks ended the week more than 1 percent lower after a heavy sell-off in the previous session.

Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed early losses to close up 0.12 percent at 22,550.85 as markets reopened for trade after a day off. Losses were seen in automakers and manufacturing names. Technology stocks were a mixed picture: Nintendo rose 3.55 percent, SoftBank Group gained 1.4 percent and Sharp was down 1.26 percent by the end of the day.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi tacked on 0.28 percent to end at 2,544.33, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics gaining 0.29 percent. Financials drifted slightly lower.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.06 percent to close at 5,982.55. The industrials and information technology sub-indexes fell 0.42 percent and 0.74 percent respectively by the end of the session.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite eked out gains of 0.06 percent to close at 3,353.82 after trading in negative territory earlier in the day. The index finished the week 1.14 percent lower. The Shenzhen Composite meanwhile lost 0.09 percent to end at 1,922.72, closing the week down 2.5 percent. The blue-chip CSI 300 index, which suffered its largest one-day fall since June 2016 on Thursday, closed higher by 0.04 percent after choppy trade.

Insurers closed mostly lower, although banks and brokerages finished the session mixed. Airlines finished the session with significant gains, with China Eastern Airlines rising 4.98 percent on the day.

A combination of tighter rules for online micro-lenders and firmer bond prices were seen as reasons for the declines on Thursday. Stocks hit by the recent sell-off had in fact risen in the past weeks and still boasted relatively good fundamentals, according to market watchers. "There was panic selling in the market," said Ronald Wan, chief executive at Partners Capital International.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fared better in comparison, climbing 0.54 percent by 3:25 p.m. HK/SIN after closing 1 percent lower on Thursday. Still, the index remained below the 30,000 mark that it topped for the first time in a decade earlier this week.

Asia stocks down, dollar posts gains on positive U.S. data

Asian shares fell on Friday as investors balanced positions on the last day of the quarter.
The dollar rose on positive U.S. economic growth data and the euro was flat after overnight losses on figures suggesting slowing expansion in Europe.

European shares were headed for a muted start, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 0.3 percent lower, France's CAC 40 .FCHI to start the day down 0.1 percent and Germany's DAX .GDAXI to be little changed.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS retreated 0.55 percent. The benchmark is up 12.5 percent for the quarter.

Hong Kong .HSI shares fell 0.6 percent, but were still headed for a 9.8 percent quarterly jump.
"Asia saw some pretty healthy profit-taking after a few sessions of solid gains, and as investors await Eurozone and U.S. inflation data tonight," said James Woods, global investment analyst at Rivkin Securities in Sydney.

China's CSI 300 index .CSI300 bucked to trend to add 0.4 percent, putting it on track for a 4.2 percent quarterly rise.

Activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in nearly 5 years in March, beating expectations, an official survey showed on Friday.

The data came as U.S. President Donald Trump foreshadowed a tense meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week by tweeting on Thursday that the U.S. could no longer tolerate massive trade deficits and job losses.

Trump will also sign executive orders on Friday aimed at identifying abuses that are causing the deficits and clamping down on non-payment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports, his top trade officials said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said on Friday that China does not have a policy to devalue its currency to promote exports, and neither does it seek a trade surplus with the United States.

Asia stocks rise, but gains for dollar, oil capped by jitters

Asian stocks edged up on Thursday, while the dollar's gains were limited as U.S. President Donald Trump's struggle to push through a healthcare reform bill raised doubts over whether he can win support for pro-growth economic policy measures.

European markets are poised for a stronger start, with financial spreadbetter CMC Markets expecting Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 0.1 percent higher, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to be up 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 .FCHI to begin the day 0.2 percent higher.

Having weakened as much as 0.4 percent a day earlier, sterling GBP=D3 was steady at $1.2489, showing little reaction to the attack close to Britain's Parliament that left five people dead, including the attacker and a police officer, and 40 injured. Police said they believed the attacker was inspired by Islamist-related terrorism.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.2 percent.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed 0.2 percent higher, as a weaker yen offset a political scandal over the relationship of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife with a Japanese nationalist education group that bought state-owned land at a fraction of its appraised price to build an elementary school.

China's CSI 300 .CSI300 had made early gains on hopes that index compiler MSCI may include A-shares in its indices, but those gains were lost as money began flowing out of the mainland market through link to the Hong Kong exchange.

The Shanghai Composite .SSEC dropped 0.3 percent, while the H-share index .HSCE added 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI retreated 0.1 percent.

Overnight, the Nasdaq .IXIC jumped 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 .SPX closed 0.2 percent higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was flat, after all three touched their lowest levels in about five weeks earlier in the session.

The dollar advanced 0.2 percent to 111.37 yen JPY=D4, after dropping to 110.75, its lowest since Nov. 22 overnight.

Asia stocks mixed, dollar slips as Fed continues to weigh

Asian stocks were mixed on Monday in thin trade, following Wall Street's declines and the G20's decision to drop a pledge to avoid trade protectionism, while the Federal Reserve's less hawkish-than-expected comments continued to weigh on the dollar.

European stocks are set for a subdued start, with financial spreadbetter IG Markets expecting Britain's FTSE 100 to open little changed and Germany's DAX to open 0.3 percent lower.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7 percent. Chinese shares were mixed with the CSI 300 down 0.1 percent while the Shanghai Composite added 0.1 percent.

Australian shares closed down 0.36 percent. South Korea ended the day 0.35 percent lower. Japan is closed for a holiday.

The MSCI emerging markets index added 0.4 percent to hit its highest level in more than two years on Monday.

Investor sentiment towards emerging markets, while cooling, remains positive. Emerging market equity funds had their sixth straight week of inflows in the week ending March 15, but the pace slowed. 

They had net inflows of $215 million, compared with nearly $1 billion the previous week, according to Thomson Reuters data.