Asian shares mixed on jitters over Hong Kong protests

SINGAPORE – Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as protesters in Hong Kong vowed to keep opposing a proposed extradition bill they fear would whittle down the Chinese territory’s legal autonomy.

The protests threaten to shake confidence in the hub for many regional and international businesses and investors.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.5% to 27,163.46, extending its losses after closing down 1.7% on Wednesday.

The Shanghai Composite index added 0.1% to 2,912.47 while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8% to 2,092.11.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.8% to 20,958.25.

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 picked up 0.1% to 6,550.10 after the release of better-than-expected jobs data.

Shares fell in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday, thousands of protesters clashed with police and were confronted with rounds of tear gas as they demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong.

At least 72 people were brought to hospitals, with two in serious condition, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority said.

They obstructed the flow of traffic and delayed a debate on a bill that would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent for trial in mainland China.

“The Hong Kong crisis could continue to escalate in the coming days and should weigh on risk appetite. Trade deal updates could fall to the second page of papers, but eventually we could see Chinese politics blend together,” Edward Moya of OANDA said in a market commentary.

President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka later this month.

But he said he’s prepared to expand existing tariffs if a deal with Beijing falls through. Representatives from both countries have had 11 rounds of trade talks but have yet to ink an agreement.

Wall Street suffered its second straight loss on Wednesday as bank and technology companies slid. Investors were worried that a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies would drag on for longer than expected.

The S&P 500 index eased 0.2% to 2,879.84 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 0.2% to 26,004.83. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.4% to 7,792.72. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks edged up less than 0.1% to 1,519.79.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 9 cents to $51.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It shed $2.13 to $51.14 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 7 cents to $59.90 per barrel. The contract lost $2.32 to $59.97 per barrel in the previous session.

CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 108.32 Japanese yen from 108.50 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1293 from $1.1288. /gg

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares fall as Fed minutes show data may tweak stance

SINGAPORE (AP) – Asian markets were mostly lower on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes of its meeting in March.

While most officials believed the central bank would leave interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year, several said their views could shift with incoming data.


Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.6% to 29,929.66 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.8% to 3,215.79.

The Kospi in South Korea was flat at 2,224.44. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 slid 0.4% to 6,198.70.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 bucked the regional trend, adding 0.1% to 21,711.38. Shares fell in Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia but rose in Singapore.

The Federal Open Market Committee released minutes from a meeting in March on Wednesday.

There were no major surprises. It showed that most officials believed that the central bank would leave its key policy rate unchanged for the rest of the year.

This was in line with the outcome of the March 19-20 meeting, where the Fed trimmed its 2019 rate hikes outlook from two to none.

In the minutes, several Fed officials also said that they may feel differently, depending on the data that surfaces.

Weaker growth and lower inflation expectations could prompt the Fed to cut rates, while stronger growth and rising inflation expectations could warrant a rate hike.

An indication of flexibility caused Asian markets to open in a “slightly soft mood,” said Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank.


“The FOMC minutes suggested that rates could head in either direction from here, but members generally favor being patient for the remainder of the year,” she added in an interview.

China reported inflation figures in March on Thursday that met market expectations. The country’s producer price index rose 0.4% in March from a year ago, according to National Bureau of Statistics.

This was up from February’s 0.1% increase. Its consumer price index picked up 2.3% in March from a year earlier, as compared to a 1.5% gain in the previous month.

Over on Wall Street, strong gains by technology companies and small-company stocks lifted indexes, while utilities lagged.

The broad S&P 500 index climbed 0.3% to 2,888.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was less than 0.1% higher at 26,157.16 and the Nasdaq composite jumped 0.7% to 7,964.24. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rebounded 1.4% to 1,581.55.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 32 cents to $64.29 per barrel. It added 63 cents to settle at $64.61 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude shed 28 cents to $71.45 per barrel. The contract gained $1.12 to $71.73 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened to 111.11 yen from 111 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1276 from $1.1273. /gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares sink, tracking Friday’s retreat on Wall Street

BANGKOK — Shares tumbled in Asia on Monday after Wall Street ended last week with a broad retreat, while Thailand’s market saw a moderate loss following a general election that appeared likely to keep the incumbent, junta-backed prime minister in power.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index tumbled 3.2 percent to 20,930.27, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 1.1 percent to 3,072.06.


The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.8 percent to 28,583.60 and South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.7 percent to 2,149.39.

The S&P ASX 200 gave up 1.2 percent to 6,120.60.

Investors are awaiting China-U.S. trade talks that are due to resume Thursday in Beijing.

Thailand’s SET dropped 0.9 percent after a military-backed party won the most votes in the country’s first election since a 2014 coup after tilting the electoral system in its favor.

The outcome is likely to add to nearly two decades of political instability in Thailand.

The preliminary results raise the likelihood that Prayut Chan-ocha, will stay on as prime minister with backing from a coalition.

“However, the transition to the new government may not be smooth,” Sian Fenner of Oxford Economics said in a commentary.

“It is unlikely that any party will win a clear majority and potential friction between political parties and the military could lead to economic activity being significantly disrupted,” Fenner said.

Shares also were lower across the rest of Southeast Asia and India’s Sensex fell 0.9 percent to 37,820.15.

Wall Street was roiled Friday by new signs that global economic growth is slowing.

The jitters triggered a sell-off in stocks and sent bond yields sharply lower, flashing a possible recession warning.

The wave of selling knocked 460 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and gave the benchmark S&P 500 index its worst day since Jan. 3.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell more than the rest of the market as traders offloaded risker assets.

The S&P 500 index dropped 1.9 percent to 2,800.71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 1.8 percent to 25,502.32.

The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, slid 2.5 percent to 7,642.67. The Russell 2000 lost 3.6 percent, to 1,505.92.

Worried investors shifted money into bonds, which sent yields much lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.43 percent from 2.54 percent late Thursday, a big move.

The slide in bond yields hurt bank stocks which, along with technology companies, accounted for much of the broad decline in stocks. The utilities sector was the only one to eke out a gain.

Factory production in the euro currency alliance fell at its steepest rate in about six years, according to surveys of manufacturers’ purchasing managers.

ENERGY: Energy futures continued their slide. Benchmark U.S. crude oil slid 51 cents to $58.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 1.6 percent to settle at $59.04 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude shed 48 cents to $66.55 per barrel. It fell 1.2 percent to close at $67.03 a barrel on Friday.

Wall Street was roiled Friday by new signs that global economic growth is slowing.

The jitters triggered a sell-off in stocks and sent bond yields sharply lower, flashing a possible recession warning.

The wave of selling knocked 460 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and gave the benchmark S&P 500 index its worst day since Jan. 3.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell more than the rest of the market as traders offloaded risker assets.

The S&P 500 index dropped 1.9 percent to 2,800.71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 1.8 percent to 25,502.32.

The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, slid 2.5 percent to 7,642.67. The Russell 2000 lost 3.6 percent, to 1,505.92.

Worried investors shifted money into bonds, which sent yields much lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.43 percent from 2.54 percent late Thursday, a big move.

The slide in bond yields hurt bank stocks which, along with technology companies, accounted for much of the broad decline in stocks. The utilities sector was the only one to eke out a gain.

Factory production in the euro currency alliance fell at its steepest rate in about six years, according to surveys of manufacturers’ purchasing managers.

ENERGY: Energy futures continued their slide. Benchmark U.S. crude oil slid 51 cents to $58.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 1.6 percent to settle at $59.04 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude shed 48 cents to $66.55 per barrel. It fell 1.2 percent to close at $67.03 a barrel on Friday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar was lower against the Japanese yen, at 109.85 yen, down from 109.91 yen on Friday. The euro was little changed at $1.1301, down from $1.1303./gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Beijing admits stock bubbles, says rout’s almost over

BEIJING, China — China’s central bank governor and its market regulator have admitted that there were “bubbles” on the country’s stock exchanges, after a spectacular rally was followed by a painful bust, but said the turbulence was coming to an end.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose by more than 150 percent in the year to June 12, fueled by debt rather than fundamentals and encouraged by authorities.

It has since plummeted nearly 40 percent since then, with official interventions to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars failing to arrest the declines.

People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan pointed to the March-June period in particular, when the Shanghai index leaped 70 percent.

“Bubbles continued to build up until mid-June,” he told a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Ankara at the weekend, according to a statement on the PBoC website.

“Since mid-June, three rounds of corrections took place in China’s stock market,” he went on. “The first two did not have international impact, while the third one in late August (had) some global influence.”

Chinese bourses are largely separated from the rest of the world’s financial system by limits on investment from overseas. But news last week of a contraction in an official gauge of Chinese factory activity sent domestic and world markets into a tailspin on worries the economy was headed for a “hard landing”.

“The correction in the stock market has now come close to an end,” Zhou said in the statement, refraining from using the word “burst” and adding the Chinese economy was not “much affected” by the rout.

The market regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), echoed his comments in a statement on Sunday.

“Gains on the stock market had been too rapid and large, forming stock market bubbles, therefore subsequent plunges and adjustments were inevitable,” it said.

“At present, market risks and bubbles have been released to some extent,” it added.

Analysts estimate the Chinese government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up stock prices, including funding state-backed China Securities Finance Corp. (CSF) to buy shares.

But investors worry the government will reduce its intervention, given the huge cost for little effect, and the market’s limited impact on the real economy.

The CSRC sought to reassure traders, saying: “When fierce and abnormal volatilities take place in the stock market and may trigger systemic risks, the government will absolutely not sit back.

“We will take decisive and multiple measures to stabilize the market in a timely manner,” it said, adding the CSF will “continue to play a stabilizing role”.

“Market transactions are basically normal and the liquidity is ample,” it added.

The state-owned China Securities Journal reported last week that securities firms were transferring more funds to the CSF to help stabilize the market, with the additional amount estimated at more than 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion).

The benchmark Shanghai stock index edged up 0.16 percent to 3,165.33 in mid-morning Monday, on the first day of trade after an extended holiday weekend. CB

source: business.inquirer.net

Shanghai index plunges more than 6 percent

SEOUL, South Korea — The Shanghai share index plunged more than 6 percent Tuesday, its biggest drop in three weeks, as investors resumed sell-offs of Chinese stocks despite the stabilization of the Chinese yuan after a sharp devaluation last week.


Other Asian stock markets also turned lower in afternoon trade.


The Shanghai Composite Index fell 6.2 percent to 3,748.16, its largest drop since the index’s 8.5 percent dive on July 27, its biggest slide in eight years.

The plunge in Chinese shares came even as the government took support measures this summer as the index’s sizzling yearlong rally reached unsustainable heights and began a dramatic fall in June.

The announced measures including banning major shareholders from selling any of their shares. But the stability was short-lived as the sell-offs restarted.

The weak Shanghai stock market underlines persistent worries about China’s economic growth despite continued government measures.

China’s surprise move last week to devalue the yuan is expected to aid Chinese exports and help make the Chinese currency more responsive to market forecasts. But it also renewed questions about the outlook of the world’s second-largest economy. The prices of oil, metal and other commodities fell.

Since Beijing’s move last week to devalue its tightly controlled yuan, the currency remained stable this week.

But some investors are selling Chinese assets, including stocks, on expectations the yuan will fall further, said Angus Nicholson, a market analyst at IG.

source: business.inquirer.net

Hong Kong stocks plunge more than 4% on China, Greece fears

HONG KONG, China – Hong Kong equities dived 4.26 percent by mid-morning Wednesday, as contagion from China’s stock rout spread into regional markets and on fears about Greece’s future in the Eurozone.

The Hang Seng Index had plunged as low as 4.97 percent in morning trade, and was at its lowest point since mid-March.

Hong Kong investors have been buffeted by two crises, with the sell-off in mainland markets coming as Greece edges closer to a Eurozone exit after a Sunday referendum rejected creditors’ plans to reform its bailout.

The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 6.97 percent, or 259.72 points, to 3,467.40. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, dropped 4.07 percent, or 78.61 points, to 1,854.22.

“China’s stock market rout is now spreading to other financial markets, creating a sweeping sense of panic and liquidity crunch,” Zheng Ge, an analyst at Wanda Futures Co., said by phone in Beijing.

Mainland markets have plunged around a third in just over three weeks and investors are now worried about the spill-over effect on the already struggling Chinese economy. Bloomberg News reported that trading has been suspended on more than 1,200 shares in China.

Mainland investors have lost confidence in the Chinese stock market which is spurring them to sell off in Hong Kong, said financial analyst Castor Pang.

“The main reason the Hong Kong market is going down is because these two markets (Shanghai and Hong Kong) have high correlation, with many mainland companies listed in both,” said Pang.

A stock link-up between the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges saw investors flood in to the Hong Kong market from April, boosted by a long-running rally in Shanghai.

The stock connect program was initially met with little interest when it began in November, but mainland authorities’ decision in March to expand the number of fund-management firms allowed to buy in Hong Kong saw activity surge.

“A lot of Chinese investors who are trading through the stock connect are trying to withdraw money from the Hong Kong,” said Pang, adding that share value in many smaller firms was dropping more than 20 percent a day.

“Those who are investing in both the Hong Kong and China stock markets have no choice but to sell their shares in Hong Kong,” Pang said, with some unable to trade on the Shanghai market after Wednesday’s share suspensions, he said.

If the sell-off continued, it would become a “chaotic situation” said Pang, head of research at Core Pacific-Yamaichi.

On Tuesday European leaders gave Athens until the weekend to come up with a debt reform plan or be ejected from the currency union.

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian stocks fall further on Wall Street decline

BEIJING  — Asian markets fell further Friday after overnight declines on Wall Street, weaker Chinese manufacturing and gloomy outlooks for South Korean automakers.

Oil edged up to stay above $95 a barrel after suffering its biggest one-day drop in 14 months.

Major indexes closed out 2013 at or near record highs, but investors seemed reluctant to chase more gains in the new year.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.4 percent to 2,101.30, adding to the previous day’s 0.3 percent loss after an HSBC Corp. survey showed manufacturing activity weakened in December. Analysts said that suggested China’s modest economic recovery might be fading.

“We expect the upcoming set of data releases to show China’s economy losing steam in December,” said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.2 percent to 23,045.5.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up 0.8 percent to 1,950.98 after Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. said they expect 2014 to see their weakest sales growth in a decade.

Tokyo was closed for the last day of its New Year’s break.

Investors looked ahead to comments later Friday by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Barnanke for indications about the possible pace of further reductions in monetary stimulus.

Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.5 percent to 8,572.16 and Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 declined 0.5 percent to 5,341.50. Singapore and Malaysia also fell.

New Zealand bucked the trend to add 0.5 percent to 5,129.26.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks fell despite data showing healthy December manufacturing growth. Analysts said prices were bound to pull back after higher corporate profits and Fed stimulus pushed markets to record levels in 2013.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index turned in its worst performance in three weeks, declining 0.9 percent. The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq both slid 0.8 percent.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.5 percent on Thursday while France’s CAC-40 and Germany’s DAX both shed 1.6 percent.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar edged up 104.8 yen. The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.366.

Benchmark oil for February delivery gained 13 cents a barrel to $95.57 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $2.98 the previous day to settle at $95.44.

source: business.inquirer.net

China shares down 0.23 percent in morning trade

SHANGHAI – Chinese stocks were down 0.23 percent in morning trade on Tuesday, the last trading day of the year, on worries over a share glut as China moves to resume initial public offerings, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 4.73 points to 2,092.80.

China’s stock regulator has granted approvals to five companies for IPOs after a more-than-one-year suspension, state media reported.

source: business.inquirer.net