Asian shares were mixed yesterday, with most regional markets closed for holidays, while US futures edged lower after the S&P 500 ended last week above 5,000.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4 percent to 7,614.90 and the SENSEX in India shed 0.7 percent to 71,129.07.
Thailand’s SET gained less than 0.1 percent and in Jakarta, the benchmark gained 0.8 percent ahead of an election to be held tomorrow.
Photo: AFP
With Chinese markets closed for the week for the Lunar New Year holiday, there was a dearth of market moving news. Tokyo’s markets were also shut yesterday, for the National Foundation Day holiday, while Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were all closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Europe’s main stock markets rose at the start of trading yesterday, as investors awaited key economic data releases due this week with the annual earnings seasons nearing an end.
This week is to bring an important update from the US on consumer inflation expectations. Japan is due on Thursday to announce its GDP growth for the final quarter of last year.
The US price data might not have a major impact on monetary policy, “However, the good news is that US inflation probably decreased at the beginning of the year, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may consider interest rate cuts in the coming months,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said in a commentary.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, finishing above 5,000 for the first time, at 5,026.61. It was the 10th record in less than a month for the index, which closed its 14th winning week in the last 15 to continue a romp that began around Halloween.
Profits have mostly been better than expected for the big companies in the S&P 500 this reporting season, which is roughly two-thirds finished.
That has burnished optimism on Wall Street, but contrarians say it may have gone too far and carried stocks to too-expensive heights.
In other trading yesterday, US benchmark crude oil lost US$0.33 to US$76.51 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained US$0.62 on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost US$0.33 to US$81.86 per barrel.
The US dollar fell to ￥149.13 from ￥149.28. The euro rose to US$1.0797 from US$1.0784.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS