Asian shares rise on dovish Fed chair, oil up as hurricane batters Louisiana

HONG KONG - Asian shares started the week with gains and the dollar was not far off two-week lows after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell struck a more dovish tone than some investors expected in long-awaited speech on Friday.

Oil prices rose, meanwhile, after energy firms suspended production as Hurricane Ida slammed into the U.S.' southern coast.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent soon after the bell, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.32 percent in early trading before Chinese markets had opened.

Australia climbed 0.39 percent and Korea's Kopsi gained 0.54 percent.

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were barely moved, up 0.04 percent.

Investors had been waiting to see whether Powell, who was speaking at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, would give a clear indication of his views on timing of the central bank's tapering of asset purchases or hiking interest rates to start removing monetary stimulus.

However, in his prepared remarks, he offered no indication on cutting asset purchases beyond saying it could be "this year", causing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to close last week at new record highs.

The next big event on traders' calendars is U.S. nonfarm payroll figures for August due to be published Friday, as Powell has suggested an improvement in the labor market is one major remaining prerequisite for action.

"A strong payrolls print could instigate a debate for a September tapering start," Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB, said in a note.

The absence of a timetable for tapering caused U.S. benchmark Treasuries and the dollar to slip, and both trends continued on Monday morning in Asia.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was 1.3054 percent compared with its U.S. close of 1.312 percent, and the dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies was around a two week low.

Investors in China, in contrast, are watching data this week to see whether they will indicate policymakers are more likely step up easing measures.

Purchasing manager surveys for manufacturing and services are both due this week, with traders waiting to see whether a trend towards slowing growth will continue, a shift that has not been helped by recent localized movement restrictions to cope with an increase in cases of the Delta variant of the new coronavirus.

"We expect both the manufacturing and services PMIs to moderate in August, given the widespread Delta variant and strict lockdown," said Barclays analysts in a note.

"With slowing growth momentum and dovish signals from the (People's Bank of China) meeting this week, we expect more easing, but still at a measured pace"

Oil was also in focus after energy firms suspended 1.74 million barrels per day of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm.

U.S. crude rose 0.86 percent to $69.34 a barrel. Brent crude rose 1.25 percent to $73.38 per barrel.

Gold was slightly higher, with the spot price gold was traded at $1,817.7863 per ounce, up 0.07 percent.

(Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

-reuters

Asian shares near all-time peak, oil heads to $60 on economic revival hopes

SYDNEY - Asian shares hovered near record highs on Monday while oil edged closer to $60 a barrel on hopes a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package will be passed by US lawmakers as soon as this month just as coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out globally.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.2 percent at 717.2, not far from last week’s record high of 730.6.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.3 percent while Australian shares advanced 0.5 percent led by technology and mining shares.

E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent in early Asian trading.

Hopes of a quicker economic revival and supply curbs by producer group OPEC and its allies pushed oil to its highest level in a year as it edged near $60 a barrel.

Global equity markets have scaled record highs in recent days on hopes of faster economic revival led by successful vaccine rollouts and expectations of a large US pandemic relief package.

On Friday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit all-time highs on stronger-than-expected corporate results in the fourth quarter and as companies were on track to post earnings growth for the first quarter instead of a decline.

The rallies came even as US data painted a dour picture of the country’s labor market with payrolls rising by 49,000, half of what economists were expecting.

The weak report spurred the push for more stimulus, underscoring the need for lawmakers to act on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress forged ahead with their stimulus plan on Friday as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle through in the coming weeks without Republican support.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted the United States would hit full employment next year if Congress can pass its support package.

“That’s a big call given full employment is 4.1 percent, but one that will sit well with the market at a time when the vaccination program is being rolled out efficiently in a number of countries,” said Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief strategist at Pepperstone.

In currencies, the US dollar came off a four-month high against the Japanese yen to be last at 105.39 following the weak jobs report.

The euro edged up slightly after rising 0.7 percent on Friday to a one-week high of $1.2054. It was last at $1.2044.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar held near a one-week high at $0.7678.

In commodities, Brent crude and US crude climbed 52 cents each to $59.86 and $0.57.37 respectively.

US gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,817 an ounce.

-reuters

Asian markets surge as Trump fuels China trade deal hopes

HONG KONG — Asian markets enjoyed another rally on Friday after Donald Trump hailed positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a report said he had asked officials to draw up a draft bill as he eyes a potential trade deal between the two.

Hong Kong jumped almost four percent in the afternoon, while Shanghai and the yuan soared as dealers seized on the news, hoping for a breakthrough in a standoff that has rocked global equities and fuelled warnings about global growth.

The gains follow a third straight advance on Wall Street as a sense of optimism returns after a diabolical October, with riskier, higher-yielding currencies enjoying a bounce against the dollar, and the pound holding on to most gains.


The day had already started with a bang after Trump tweeted that he had held positive talks with Xi, which was a rare sign of hope in the months-long stand-off between the world's top two economies.

"Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China. We talked about many subjects, with a heavy emphasis on Trade," he wrote.


He added that trade talks were "moving along nicely" and meetings were "being scheduled" at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.

The comment comes days after Trump warned he would impose tariffs on all China's shipments to the US before saying he thought he could "make a great deal with China" but it was not yet ready.

Later, Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported that the president has requested key cabinet secretaries put together an outline deal to call a ceasefire in the painful row. It said several agencies had been called in to help with putting the plan together.

Hong Kong and Shanghai were already buoyant after Beijing said it would introduce measures to kickstart the stuttering economy following a string of weak data, including growth at its slowest pace in nine years during the third quarter.

The yuan also rallied to 6.9080 to the dollar, having hit 6.9302 earlier in the morning and is well off the 10-year lows around 6.97 on Thursday.

'Still cautious'

The optimism spread across the region. Tokyo was up 2.7 percent in the afternoon, Singapore 1.3 percent and Seoul piled on three percent, while Sydney reversed early losses to sit 0.1 percent higher.

Taipei, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta also posted healthy gains.

"Positive comments from President Trump over US-China trade tension are cheering the market in the short term," said Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia Pacific at JP Morgan Asset Management.

"Dollar moderation, the stabilising trade relationship between US and China and more stimulus from Beijing will be the key ingredients to revive market confidence in Asia.

"While we are still cautious over a full resolution of recent tensions in the medium term, resumption of dialogue between Washington and Beijing would be good enough to investors for now."

Oil prices recovered after Thursday's plunge of more than two percent on oversupply worries, with US sanctions on Iran due within days but other major producers ready to pick up the slack.

The commodity has lost around 15 percent from four-year highs at the start of last month as Russia and OPEC said they would bolster output and dealers grew concerned about the impact on demand from a trade war between China and the US.

On currency markets high-yielding units were well bought. The Australian dollar climbed 1.1 percent, South Korea's won strengthened 1.5 percent and the South African rand was 1.6 percent higher.

India's rupee, which has been hammered this week by a standoff between the government and central bank, climbed almost one percent.

The pound dipped but held most of its gains after a report that British Prime Minister Theresa May had reached a post-Brexit deal with Brussels securing access to the EU for Britain's key finance sector.

Sterling jumped almost two percent on the report despite London and Brussels officials' reservations.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks mixed as investors await US tariff hike

BEIJING — Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street's gains as investors waited for a new U.S. tariff hike in a trade battle with China.

KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 2,661.33, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 1 percent to 22,595.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.3 percent to 26,538.58 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.5 percent to 6,171.00. Seoul's Kospi shed 0.3 percent to 2,281.90, while New Zealand. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia declined.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks broke a four-day losing streak as industrial companies and retailers rose. Technology companies recovered some of last week's losses. Nike, Home Depot and Walmart all climbed. Microsoft and other technology companies rose, but Apple fell after saying more U.S. tariff hikes could push it to raise prices. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.2 percent to 2,877.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent to 25,857.07. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent to 7,924.16.



TRADE TENSIONS: The Trump administration is due to announce a decision shortly on whether to go ahead with 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports in a dispute over Beijing's technology policy. The two sides already have raised duties on $50 billion of each other's goods. Trump said Friday that he was considering extending penalties to extending penalties to nearly all Chinese imports to the United States by raising duties on an additional $267 billion of goods.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Wall Street balanced the tech gloom against the fresh focus on tax cuts on Monday yielding mixed returns," Jinyi Pan of IG said in a report. "The protracted expectation for more bad news to set in with the looming tariffs remains the most important factor weighing on markets currently."

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 4 cents to $67.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 21 cents on Monday to close at $67.54. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 11 cents to $77.48 in London. It rose 54 cents the previous session to $77.37.

CURRENCY: The dollar gained to 111.36 yen from Monday's 111.12 yen. The euro edged down to $1.1590 from $1.1595.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks mixed as weak dollar weighs on US economic data

SINGAPORE — Asian markets were mixed Thursday as positive sentiment from U.S. economic data and the country's willingness to strike a trade deal with Canada was shaken by a weaker dollar.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.2 percent to 22,883.64 and the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.3 percent to 2,316.35. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.4 percent lower at 28,297.41. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6 percent to 2,752.13. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent to 6,369.00.



WALL STREET: Gains by big technology companies and Amazon took U.S. indexes higher on Wednesday. Stocks have rallied for four days as investors grew more hopeful about trade talks between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The S&P 500 index closed 0.6 percent higher at 2,914.04, a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to 26,124.57 and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1 percent to a record 8,109.69. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 0.4 percent to 1,734.75.

U.S ECONOMY GROWS: The U.S. economy grew at a strong 4.2 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the best showing in nearly four years, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Strength in business investment offset slightly slower consumer spending, placing growth on track to produce the country's strongest full-year gain in more than a decade. Economists expect growth to slow to a still-solid 3 percent annual rate the rest of the year, resulting in full-year growth of 3 percent for 2018.

POSSIBLE TRADE DEAL: President Donald Trump has said that efforts to reach a deal with Canada in the new North American Free Trade Agreement were "probably on track". The longtime U.S. ally and the country's second-largest trading partner after China had been left out of talks for the past five weeks. Canada has until Friday to reach a deal. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a "possibility of getting to a good deal for Canada" by Trump's deadline but said the country will not sign a bad agreement. Mexico, long the target of Trump's ire, has cut a preliminary deal with the United States to replace NAFTA with a pact that's meant, among other things, to shift more manufacturing into the United States.


ANALYST'S TAKE: "The positive impulse seen in the U.S. market has not flown through to Asia. Weakness of the dollar has reversed sentiment in the markets overnight," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in an interview.

ENERGY: Oil prices have extended their gains on concerns that looming sanctions on Iran may cause supply to drop. Benchmark U.S. crude added 13 cents to $69.64 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract edged 1.4 percent higher and closed Wednesday at $69.51. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 12 cents to $77.58 in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar eased to 111.63 yen from 111.69 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1703 from $1.1699.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks rise as solid US performance lifts spirits

SINGAPORE — Asian markets climbed higher on Wednesday as a sweep of positive news from Wall Street and beyond boosted confidence in the U.S. economy.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.0 percent to 22,921.20 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,304.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6 percent to 28,351.53. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.4 percent to 2,808.24. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8 percent to 6,254.20. Shares rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

WALL STREET: U.S indexes rebounded after a weak start on solid gains for retailers, technology and household goods companies. Prescription drug business Johnson & Johnson and financial services company Charles Schwab posted bullish earnings, adding to the largely positive corporate earnings season. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4 percent to 2,809.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to 25,119.89. The Nasdaq composite jumped 0.6 percent to 7,855.12, surpassing the record high it set last week. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 0.5 percent to 1,687.26.

UPBEAT FED COMMENT: Delivering his twice-a-year report on monetary policy to Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects the job market to remain robust and inflation to hover around the Fed's 2 percent target for the next few years. Stocks have fallen after Powell's previous major addresses, but not on Tuesday.

U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: The Fed said U.S. industrial production, including output at factories, mines and utilities, climbed 0.6 percent in June. It fell 0.5 percent in May after a fire disrupted production of Ford Motor's F-series pickup trucks, America's bestselling vehicle. U.S. manufacturing still looks healthy despite trade conflicts with China, Europe and Canada and a rising dollar that makes U.S. products more expensive abroad.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: "While earnings and the highly-watched testimony to Senate by Fed chair Powell played a part, movements remained largely muted with the likes of the Dow and the S&P 500 index clocking only moderate gains overnight," Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 34 cents to $67.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was relatively unchanged at $68.08 in New York on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 30 cents to $71.86 per barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.95 yen from 112.83 yen late Tuesday. The euro eased to $1.1654 from $1.1664.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks dip as trade tensions weigh on US tech sector

SINGAPORE — Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday, as moves by the U.S to gain an upper hand on trade with China weighed on the technology sector. Tech stocks have been the pillar of the Wall Street's long-running bull market.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.5 percent to 22,221.33 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 2,337.60. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.2 percent to 28,619.21 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China slipped 0.6 percent to 2,842.22. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4 percent to 6,186.40. Taiwan's benchmark fell and Southeast Asian indexes were mostly lower.

WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks finished broadly lower. The S&P 500 index dropped 1.4 percent to 2,717.07, its worst loss since April 6. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for the ninth time in 10 days, losing 1.3 percent to 24,252.80. The Nasdaq composite shed 2.1 percent to 7,532.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slid 1.7 percent to 1,657.51.


TECH DOWNTURN: Stocks tumbled on reports that the Trump administration plans to limit exports of some high-tech products to China, and also limit investment in technology firms by companies with substantial Chinese ownership. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's suggestion that the investment restrictions wouldn't be limited to China caused stocks to slide further. The market recovered when Peter Navarro, one of President Donald Trump's top trade advisors, told CNBC that there was no plan for investment restrictions and that the administration's probe into alleged technology theft is limited to China. All but one of the 72 technology companies listed on the S&P 500 index closed lower on Monday.

TRADE TENSIONS: U.S. efforts to secure a pole position in trade are seeing some hit back. Iconic American motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said it would move some production overseas to avoid tariffs the European Union is placing on motorcycles made in the U.S. Those tariffs were a response to taxes the U.S. placed on steel and aluminum from Europe. In less than two weeks, a 25 percent tariff will be imposed by the U.S. on billions of dollars of Chinese products. China will also raise import duties on $34 billion worth of American goods. China and the European Union agreed on Monday to launch a group that will, among other things, preserve support for international trade amid U.S. threats of import controls.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Fears that China may pull investments in U.S. tech firms have caused a broad drawback. There is a sense that trade tensions could be long drawn and somewhat more antagonistic going forward," said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and macro strategy at Mizuho Bank.
ENERGY: OPEC countries have agreed to raise the supply of crude oil by 1 million barrels a day. But investors aren't sure if the cartel will carry it out. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 7 cents to $68.15 per barrel in New York. It dipped 0.7 percent to settle at $68.08 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 5 cents to $74.60 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar remained at 109.45 yen from late trading Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1718 from $1.1704.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks take a breather from trade tensions; markets up

SINGAPORE — Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as traders sidelined tariffs that the U.S. and China have threatened to impose on one another, focusing on positive housing data instead.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 percent to 22,540.07 and South Korea's Kospi gained 1.4 percent to 2,373.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rebounded 1.5 percent to 29,908.50 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China increased 0.4 percent to 2,918.60. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1 percent to 6,166.40. Taiwan's benchmark rose but Southeast Asian indexes were mixed.

U.S-CHINA TARIFFS: A burgeoning trade war between the U.S. and China is showing no signs of abating. On Tuesday, China's government called President Donald Trump's threat of new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods "blackmail" and warned to retaliate with measures of its own. Trump has already announced a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion of Chinese products starting July 6. China retaliated by raising import duties on $34 billion worth of American goods, including soybeans, electric cars and whiskey.


POSITIVE HOUSING DATA: The solid U.S. job market has helped to boost demand for new homes. The Commerce Department said housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million in May, the strongest pace since July 2007. All of May's construction gains came from a 62 percent jump in the Midwest, while building slumped in the Northeast, South and West.


QUOTEWORTHY: "Trade tension is going to dominate market sentiment in the weeks to come. The market is waiting for Beijing to come out with counter measurements to offload more chips," said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore.

WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks finished lower. The S&P 500 index dropped 0.4 percent to 2,762.57 and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.1 percent to 24,700.21. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.3 percent to 7,725.59.

ENERGY: Oil futures recovered losses from the previous day ahead of an OPEC meeting on Friday. Saudi Arabia and Russia are seeking to raise production by 1.5 million barrels per day, but they may not get their way. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 38 cents to $65.28 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $64.90 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 32 cents to $75.40 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.19 yen from 110.07 yen in late trading Tuesday. The euro ticked up to $1.1579 from $1.1575.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks tumble after new Trump tariff threat

BEIJING — Asian stocks tumbled Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated a dispute with Beijing over technology policy by threatening a tariff hike on additional Chinese goods.

KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.3 percent to 2,953.54 points and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2 percent to 29,685.28. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 retreated 0.9 percent to 22,482.89 and Seoul's Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 2,356.57. Markets in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia also declined. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 6,123.00.

TRADE TENSIONS: Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports, stepping up a dispute companies and investors worry could drag down global trade and economic growth. Trump accused Beijing of being unwilling to resolve the dispute over complaints it steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. China's Commerce Ministry criticized the White House action as blackmail and said Beijing was ready to retaliate.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "President Donald Trump's unwillingness to back down became apparent this morning, once again sinking markets into a risk-off atmosphere," said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. "Attention now turns to China for the country's response towards the latest accusations from the White House, but mostly signs of further retaliation."


WALL STREET: U.S. stocks finished mixed in trading that ended before Trump issued his latest tariff threat. Household goods companies took some of the worst losses as the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell for the third time in four days. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,773.75. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.4 percent to 24,987.47. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.65 points to 7,747.03. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks rose 0.5 percent to a record 1,692.46. Many investors feel smaller and more U.S.-focused companies are less vulnerable in the event of a major trade dispute.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 26 cents to $65.59 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 79 cents on Monday to $65.85. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 41 cents to $74.93 per barrel in London. The contract rose $1.90 the previous session to $75.34.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 109.98 yen from Monday's 110.54 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1633 from $1.1623.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks extend global rout as traders flee to safety

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks led a rout across Asian markets Tuesday, while Japanese government bond yields turned negative, the dollar dived against the yen and gold jumped as fears about the global economy sent investors scrambling to safety.

While most of the region is closed for the Chinese New Year holiday, trading remained thin but dealers took their lead from New York and Europe where banking shares were battered.

The sell-off is the latest this year, which has seen trading screens from Asia to the Americas awash with red.

The latest round of blood-letting came on the back of worries about the financial sector as the global economy slows down, without the support of the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policies.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all finished down more than 2.5 percent, with the German DAX ending below 9,000 for the first time since October 2014. And Wall Street's three main indexes all lost more than one percent.

Financials were in focus as a slowdown in the world economy raises the prospect of loan defaults and lower interest rates, which eat into their bottom lines.

Banking stocks sagged in New York and Europe, with US titan Bank of America, Germany's Deutsche Bank and France's Societe Generale all tanking.

In Asian trade Tokyo slumped 5.3 percent in the afternoon, putting the market back into bear territory, a 20 percent fall from its recent highs.

Financial giant Mitsubishi UFJ plunging almost eight percent and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group tumbling 7.3 percent. Major brokerage Nomura tanked nearly 11 percent.

Exporters such as Toyota and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing each down around five percent as they were hit by the strong yen.

The dollar sank to 114.50 yen, having sat above 120 yen just a week ago. The unit is considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

'Bucketload of concern'

The flight to safety also saw Japanese government bond yields dive below zero, extending a downtrend sparked by the Bank of Japan's surprise move last month to slap a negative interest rate on some commercial lenders' deposits.

And gold, another commodity considered low risk, climbed 1.5 percent Tuesday to $1,193.50.

Sydney shed 2.7 percent, Wellington was 1.4 percent off, Manila dived 1.5 percent and Jakarta was down 0.6 percent.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul, among others, were closed.

"Those off celebrating Lunar New Year will be happy their markets are closed," Chris Weston, chief markets strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd., said in an email to clients.

"These markets need a strong shake up and sharp downside move, followed by a wave of buying to settle things down," he said, according to Bloomberg News.

"But until that comes there will be no clarity, absolutely no confidence and a bucketload of concern. It almost feels as though the markets are pushing central banks into some kind of action, but they don't know exactly what it is they want."

However, while regional equities were being scythed, crude prices staged a rebound after US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell back below $30 a barrel on Monday.

WTI was up 1.4 percent at $30.10 and Brent added 0.7 percent to $33.12.

Both contracts lost more than 3.5 percent Monday after weekend talks between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Venezuela dashed hopes for a reduction in production, with Riyadh unwilling to move from its position.

Key figures around 0400 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 5.3 percent at 16,107.26

Sydney - S&P/ASX 200: DOWN 2.9 percent at 4,829.30

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1212 from $1.1193 on Monday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.50 yen from 115.84 yen

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 16,027.05 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.7 percent at 5,689.36 points (close)

source: interaksyon.com

US stocks plunge after global rout

NEW YORK - US stocks slumped Monday, the first trading day of 2016, as heavy sell-offs in global markets and geopolitical tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia rattled nervous investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 276.09 points, or 1.58 percent, to 17,148.94. The S&P 500 dropped 31.28 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,012.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 104.32 points, or 2.08 percent, to 4,903.09.

China's shares tumbled 7 percent Monday, triggering the new "circuit breaker" mechanism. The decline is generally being attributed to downbeat market sentiment stemming from weaker than expected manufacturing activity in December and a steep fall in the yuan exchange rate on the day.

The Caixin General China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released Monday, edged down to 48.2 in December from 48.6 in November. The December reading, the 10th monthly figure in a row below the 50-point level, suggests a contraction.

Tokyo stocks plunged on the first trading day of the New Year as below-par manufacturing data from China compounded a dour market mood, with sentiment initially dashed by Wall Street's slump at the end of last year.

European equities also suffered big losses following Asian stocks' sharp decline Monday, with Germany's benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange diving 4.28 percent.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Iran over the weekend and asked all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

Analysts said the heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sent traders scurrying from stocks to safe haven assets.

On the economic front, the US December ISM Manufacturing Index moved down from November's 48.6 to 48.2, missing market expectations of 49.2, said the Institute Supply Management Monday.

"That the manufacturing sector was weak in 2015 is not news, but a weaker-than-expected reading to close the year raises concerns the slowdown may continue well into 2016," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

US construction spending data also came out disappointing. The Commerce Department announced Monday that construction spending during November 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$1,122.5 billion, 0.4 percent below the revised October estimate.

source: interaksyon.com

Asian stocks set for worst monthly drop in three years on global rout

HONG KONG - Asian shares fell on Monday and looked set for their worst monthly performance in three years after top Federal Reserve officials kept the door open for an interest rate hike in September and Chinese stock markets took a fresh tumble.

Global markets are bracing for Chinese data on Tuesday which is expected to show the world's second-largest economy is continuing to lose momentum.

A Reuters poll showed China's official factory sector activity likely fell to a 3-year low.

U.S. business surveys, factory orders, trade data and non farm payrolls will also be released this week, keeping investors on edge after one of the wildest trading weeks of the year.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.8 percent and is set to fall 10 percent this month, its worst monthly drop since May 2012.

Japan's Nikkei was down more than 1 percent and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.6 percent. Australian shares lost 1.2 percent.

Selling intensified as China markets extended declines. By midmorning, Shanghai stocks, the epicenter of this month's whip-saw action, were down 3 percent. They have plunged more than 40 percent since mid-June.

U.S. stock futures shed 1 percent, pointing to weakness on Wall Street later in the day.

"Overall sentiment towards emerging markets continue to be quite cautious," said Frances Cheung, Asia strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

"Unless we see a decisive trend forward in the trajectory of U.S. interest rates, investors will continue to be wary of emerging market assets."

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, speaking at the central bank's conference in Wyoming, said recent volatility in global markets could ease and possibly pave the way for a rate hike.

"The release of U.S. ADP employment on Wednesday and non-farm payrolls on Friday will be key in analyzing the quantum of a September rate hike," Angus Nicholson, market analyst at trading services provider IG in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients.

Prospects of higher interest rates and returns in the United States combined with China's slowdown have diminished the appeal of emerging markets as investors have dumped riskier assets.

Investors sold $5.9 billion of emerging market assets between Aug 20-26, a sharp increase from $1.5 billion the week earlier, according to Nomura fund flows data.

Credit markets, often a harbinger of things to come for equities, spelt further pain in store for emerging markets.

An index for Asian high-yield credit has fallen sharply compared to a relatively steady performance in the investment grade index, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The dollar eased 0.4 percent to 121.15 yen after rising to the week's high of 121.76 on Friday following the Fed officials' comments that kept prospects of a September hike alive.

The euro was up 0.5 percent at $1.12405  after touching an eight-day low of $1.1156 on Friday.

The market will watch Thursday's policy meeting to see if the European Central Bank will be inclined to ease monetary policy further in the wake of the recent global markets turmoil, though no imminent change is expected.

U.S. crude oil prices dipped early on Monday as their biggest two-day surge in quarter of a century ran its course.

U.S. crude was down 0.8 percent at $44.86 a barrel after jumping more than 6 percent on Friday on frenetic short-covering fueled by violence in Yemen, a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and refinery outages.

The contract was still down nearly 5 percent on the month, when it hit a 6-1/2-year low last week in the wake of China-led global growth fears.

source: interaksyon.com

Asian stocks on defensive on weak China data, Fed rate view

TOKYO - Asian shares were on the defensive on Monday after new indications of a slowdown in the Chinese economy strained the nerves of markets already unsettled by the prospect of a U.S. interest rate hike in September.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4 percent and South Korean shares dropped 0.3 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan stood near its 1 1/2-year low hit last month and stood flat.

"The markets are beginning to price in structurally lower growth in China and an end to the so-called commodity super-cycle," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Chinese exports tumbled 8.3 percent in July, their biggest drop in four months and far worse than economists' forecast of a 1.0 percent fall, data showed on Saturday.

Producer price deflation deepened to 5.4 percent, sending wholesale prices to their lowest since late 2009.

The data came as many emerging currencies came under pressure from expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will end nearly a decade of its zero interest rates.

The U.S. Department of Labor said on Friday employers added 215,000 jobs in July, only slightly below a Reuters poll of 223,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held at a seven-year low of 5.3 percent and there were signs that wages were beginning to pick up.

Taken together, the figures promoted traders to ratchet up expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates in September, even though money market futures pricing suggest it remained a close call.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3 percent, hitting a six-month low. The S&P 500 shed also about 0.3 percent.

Emerging market shares were beaten harder, with MSCI's emerging market index falling to a two-year low on Friday.

The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates has made the dollar more attractive to investors in the past year, which in turn has lowered demand for commodities and crimped U.S. corporate earnings from exports.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of euro, yen and four other currencies, reached 98.334, its highest since late April after the U.S. job data, before turning lower. On Monday, it stood at 97.670.

The euro traded at $1.0957 while the yen was 124.35 to the dollar.

Oil prices kept sliding on the global slowdown, a U.S. gasoline glut and a rise in the U.S. oil rig count.

Crude futures prices fell to fresh multi-month lows early on Monday. Brent fell to $48.26 per barrel, not far from a six-year low of $45.19 hit in January.

source: interaksyon.com

Asia extends losses as China woes spread, yen shoots up

TOKYO - Asian equities extended losses on Thursday as concerns over China's market turmoil spread, while the safe-haven yen shot to a seven-week high as global risk appetite ebbed.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.2 percent, hovering near a 17-month low struck the previous day.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.8 percent, Australian shares lost 0.3 percent and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9 percent.

The focus in Asia again turned towards how Chinese stocks would fare later in the session, with a series of increasingly aggressive attempts by authorities so far having failed to stem the massive exodus from a once booming market.

The country's stock markets have plunged nearly 30 percent over the last three weeks.

"Fundamentally, China is coming back to a point of attraction –the monstrous P/E ratios have come back to more realistic levels. However, the bursting bubble means value is unlikely to factor into thinking in the interim. The repercussions haven't completely played out yet," Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, wrote.

China's securities regulator took the drastic step late on Wednesday of ordering shareholders with stakes of more than 5 percent from selling shares for the next six months in a bid to halt a plunge in stock prices.

U.S. shares slid sharply overnight on growing fears that nose-diving Chinese shares could destabilize the world's second- largest economy and have global implications.

The doom-and-gloom mood - already heightened earlier in the month by prospects of Greece leaving the euro - benefited the yen, often sought in times of economic uncertainty.

The dollar stood little changed at 120.815 yen, within reach of a seven-week low of 120.41 touched overnight when it suffered a bruising 1.5 percent fall.

The greenback was weighed down further as U.S. Treasury yields continued falling on flight-to-safety bids and new signs that the Federal Reserve may be hesitant about raising interest rates, as shown by their policy meeting minutes.

The dollar's tumble against the yen helped the euro, which climbed to $1.1075, pulling further away from a one-month trough of $1.0916 plumbed on Tuesday.

Commodities, far from immune to the slide in global equities, remained subdued. U.S. crude nudged up 0.4 percent to $51.86 early on Thursday but has shed nearly nine percent so far this week.

Copper received a reprieve overnight thanks to the dollar's plunge, but the metal still remained within reach of a six-year low. Copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4 percent at $5,495 a tonne after hitting the six-year trough of $5,240 a tonne on Wednesday.

source: interaksyon.com

Asian shares, dollar cheered by upbeat U.S. data

TOKYO - Asian stocks started the week on a brighter note on Monday, after solid U.S. data and earnings calmed tumult in global financial markets and reassured investors worried about the health of the world economy.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment was surprisingly strong in early October, rising to more than a seven-year high. Other data also showed new housing starts rose more than expected last month, suggesting U.S. economic growth was solid.

The upbeat U.S. data has brought some calm to markets after a week of turbulence as signs of softening global growth rattled investors, sending volatility spiking to levels not seen in years.

"Sentiment has seemingly been unaffected by the market volatility," strategists at Barclays said in a note to clients.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up about 0.6 percent in early trade, and Japan's Nikkei stock average surged about 2.6 percent, retaking some of the 5 percent it shed in the previous week.

On Wall Street on Friday, all major stock indexes climbed more than 1 percent, though the S&P 500 posted its fourth straight weekly decline, its longest streak in more than three years.

U.S. earnings will remain in the spotlight this week, with results due from 128 S&P 500 companies, including six Dow components.

Out of the 81 S&P 500 component companies that have already reported third-quarter results, 64.2 percent have beaten expectations, a rate slightly below the average over the past four quarters but better than the past 20 years.

Asian investors will also pay attention to developments in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy protests entered their fourth week and demonstrators appeared increasingly willing to confront police.

U.S. Treasuries posted their second straight day of declines on Friday, and their rising yields added to the dollar's appeal.

The yield on benchmark 10-year notes stood at 2.198 percent in Asian trade, steady from Friday's U.S. close of 2.199 percent and well above 17-month lows plumbed last week.

Speculators boosted their bullish bets on the dollar in the week ended Oct. 14 to their largest since late May last year, still showing optimism for U.S. economic prospects, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

The value of the dollar's net long position increased to $43.04 billion from $40.91 billion the previous week. Net dollar-long positions notched their fourth straight week of rises, and totaled at least $30 billion for the ninth straight week.

The euro was last down about 0.1 percent at $1.2748, while the dollar added 0.2 percent against the yen to 107.12 yen.

The yen's drop to a six-year low against the dollar of 110.09 on Oct. 1 followed a rapid decline of 8 percent over three months, and sparked fears at some Japanese companies. Nearly half of Japanese firms think the government should start defending the yen at this month's dollar high of 110, according to a Reuters survey released on Monday.

In commodities trading, Brent crude rose about 0.3 percent to $86.44 a barrel, bouncing from last week's nearly four-year lows as investors bought back into a market they said was oversold. U.S. crude rose about 0.8 percent after logging its third weekly decline.

Spot gold inched down abut 0.1 percent to $1,235.90 an ounce, after marking its second straight weekly gain.

source: interaksyon.com