Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Asia markets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asia markets. Show all posts

Friday, May 31, 2019

ANALYSIS: Asia markets fall after Trump announces Mexico tariffs


Date created : 
ADVERTISING
Hong Kong 
by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, France24 Financial Analysts
Asian stocks edged down Friday, despite modest gains on Wall Street overnight, as US President Donald Trump's sudden announcement of tariffs on all Mexican imports saw Tokyo shares drop.
Trump's Twitter announcement of a five percent tariff on all goods from Mexico starting June 10 sent shares in automakers with plants in the North American country falling sharply.
Trump said the duties would gradually increase until "illegal migrants" stop coming into the United States through Mexico.
Mexico's under-secretary for North American affairs called the move "disastrous" and vowed to retaliate.
The announcement saw shares in Japanese automakers plunge in early trade, with Honda dropping 3.75 percent to 2,665 yen, Mazda plummeting 6.25 percent to 1,071.5 yen, Nissan down 3.66 percent to 747.4 yen, and Toyota slipping 2.54 percent to 6,404 yen.
Tokyo's main index fell 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong edged down 0.2 percent. Singapore slipped 0.5 percent and Sydney was down 0.1 percent. Shanghai managed a 0.1 percent gain.
Coming amidst a protracted trade war between the United States and China, the latest tariffs announcement will do little to soothe investors' anxieties.
In recent days China and the US have ramped up their rhetoric, with Beijing accusing Washington of "naked economic terrorism" and Trump dismissing the Asian superpower as "a very weakened nation".
The two sides have not set a date for negotiations to resume in the row that has seen Washington and Beijing slap tit-for-tat tariffs on imports, while Trump's decision to blacklist Chinese telecom giant Huawei earlier this month has added a new dimension to the fractious relationship.
"Markets are getting nervous that we may not see anything constructive on the trade front until the June 28-29th G20 summit, where President Trump and his Chinese counterpart will meet on the sidelines", said OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya.
"The longer the trade war lasts, the greater the global growth deterioration," he said.
Oil prices fell after a smaller-than-expected drop in US crude supplies, with new data showing US oil production at an all-time high.
"US production appears to be ramping up too quickly to allow inventories to come down much," Moya said.
"Gasoline inventories also posted a strong rise for a second consecutive week, despite the beginning of the summer driving season."
- Key figures around 0300 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 20,780.76 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.2 percent at 27,053.87
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,903.88
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2611 from $1.2613 at 2100 GMT
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1134 from $1.1130
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.22 yen from 109.61 yen
Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN 59 cents at $66.28 per barrel
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 52 cents at $56.07 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 25,169.88 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,218.16 (close)


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, February 25, 2019

ANALYSIS: Asia markets rally as Trump delays China tariffs


Date created : 
Markets have rallied after Donald Trump hailed progress in the China-US trade talks and delayed a March 1 deadline for ramping up tariffs on imports
Markets have rallied after Donald Trump hailed progress in the China-US trade talks and delayed a March 1 deadline for ramping up tariffs on imports AFP
ADVERTISING
Hong Kong
by Xian Wang and Biodun Iginla, France24 Financial Analysts
Shanghai led a rally across Asian markets Monday after Donald Trump said he would delay a hike in tariffs on Chinese goods citing "substantial progress" in trade talks and fuelling hopes of an end to their long-running stand-off.
Optimism over the negotiations had already provided support to global equities, spurring a rally in January and February, but the president's comments gave extra ammunition to investors to ramp up the buying.
ADVERTISING
The news also fired currency markets with the yuan extending gains to a seven-month high, while other high-yielding, riskier units were also up against the dollar.
Trump said on Twitter that the US "has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues".
He added: "As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the US increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1."
The president also said he planned to hold a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to sign a deal.
China's Xinhua news agency added that the two sides had "made substantial progress on specific issues" including on transfer of technology, intellectual property and agriculture.
- 'Sigh of relief' -
In morning trade, Shanghai jumped 2.8 percent and Hong Kong added 0.4 percent while Tokyo ended the morning 0.7 percent higher.
Sydney and Singapore each put on 0.1 percent, while Seoul was flat, Taipei added 0.4 percent and Jakarta rose 0.3 percent.
The gains in Asia followed another positive lead from Wall Street, where the Dow enjoyed its ninth straight weekly gain -- the longest streak since May 1995.
"This is a sigh of relief," said Ben Emons, managing director for global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors. "Markets will still keep a level of caution, but this news is encouraging," he told Bloomberg TV.
The upbeat sentiment lifted high-risk currencies, with the yuan hitting its highest level against the dollar since July, while South Korea's won, the Australian dollar and the Indonesia rupiah were also well up.
Forex traders will be closely watching speeches this week from top Federal Reserve officials -- including chairman Jerome Powell's appearance in front of lawmakers -- hoping for clues about the bank's monetary policy plans.
Wall Street "will be looking for soothing comments about the future size of the balance sheet -- the bigger the better -- and insights into future rate hikes", said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 21,572.11 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.4 percent at 28,926.21
Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.8 percent at 2,882.51
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1347 from $1.1332 at 2130 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3067 from $1.3053
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.73 yen from 110.75
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 15 cents at $57.41
Oil - Brent Crude: UP 19 cents at $67.31 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 26,031.81 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,178.60 (close)

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Monday, April 3, 2017

Asia markets down, Tokyo hit by strong yen after Russia bomb blast


by Coco Jiang and Biodun Iginla, France24, Hong Kong


    © AFP / by Danny McCord | Russian President Vladimir Putin places flowers in St Petersburg following the metro blast, which has fanned fresh geopolitical fears

    HONG KONG  - 
    Tokyo led Asian markets lower Tuesday, hit by a stronger yen as investors fled to safety following a suspected terror attack in Saint Petersburg that left 11 people dead and fanned fresh geopolitical concerns.
    The blast on a metro train in Russia's second city dragged US and European equities lower, after a positive start to the week across Asia, with traders also on edge about the upcoming summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
    Trump at the weekend said he expects the meeting with Xi in Florida "will be a very difficult one", which follows a series of attacks on Beijing's trade policies and accusations it is a currency manipulator.
    A world rally fuelled by hopes for Trump's agenda sputtered last month, despite a slew of strong economic readings from China to Europe and the United States.
    "Markets are at an interesting juncture at the moment," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, in a note. "It's caught between what has been a real pick-up in data over the past four months and some fading notions about the effectiveness of Donald Trump and his ability to implement his agenda."
    He added that while Trump's failure to push through his repeal of Obamacare last month was seen by some as a chance to concentrate on his tax reforms, most investors worry about his chances of pushing through promised economy-boosting measures.
    "The question for traders and markets more broadly is what comes next," McKenna said.
    - Ruble stable, rand sinks -
    Tokyo ended the morning down 0.4 percent, while Sydney, Seoul and Singapore were all 0.1 percent lower.
    Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for public holidays.
    On currency markets the dollar dipped against the yen, sitting around 110.50 yen, well down from the levels around 111.30 yen Monday in Asia.
    The Russian ruble stabilised against the dollar, having swung wildly Monday soon after news of the Saint Petersburg explosion.
    But the South African rand shed one percent after Standard and Poor's cut its rating on the country to "junk" owing to "heightened political and institutional uncertainties" following President Jacob Zuma's decision to sack top ministers last week, including respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
    The unit had already fallen more than 10 percent since March 27, when speculation started swirling that Gordhan's job was in danger.
    Other key events this week include the March US jobs report and the release of minutes from the most recent meetings of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
    - Key figures at 0230 GMT -
    Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,906.69 (break)
    Hong Kong - Hang Seng: Closed for public holiday
    Shanghai - Composite: Closed for public holiday
    Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0666 from $1.0671
    Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2491 from $1.2484
    Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.53 yen from 110.91 yen
    Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP one cent at $50.25 per barrel
    Oil - Brent North Sea: UP one cents at $53.13 per barrel
    New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 20,650.21 (close)
    London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,282.69 (close)
     
    PROMOTED STORIES
    Sponsored content by Outbrain
    Posted by at No comments:
    Labels: , , ,
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)