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.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
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