Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday, as investors keep a close watch on the People's Bank of China's decision on its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates for July, as well as the latest developments on the trade front. Trade came into focus once again over the weekend as the White House reiterated its position on tariffs. On Sunday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Aug. 1 the "hard deadline" for countries to start paying tariffs, though he also added that "nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1." South Korean markets started the day higher Monday. As of...
Hong Kong's shares were almost flat in the Monday morning session, trading around 19,868 following a rally in the prior session, with investors responding to China's CPI and PPI data. Consumer prices in the mainland rose by 0.2% yoy in November, missing consensus of 0.5% while marking the softest increase in five months. At the same time, producer prices fell by 2.5%, pointing to the 26th month of drop despite softening from October's print of a 2.9% fall. On local data, forex reserves in the city notched a nine-month peak of USD 425 billion last month. Market participants monitored...
European equity markets are expected to start the new trading week on a cautious note, with global political instability dampening investor sentiment. The ongoing political crises in South Korea and France, coupled with the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, add to the uncertainty. Additionally, there are no major economic or earnings releases in Europe on Monday. In pre-market trading, futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 were down around 0.15% and 0.1%, respectively. Source: Trading Economics
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.18% to close at 39,160, while the broader Topix index rose 0.27% to 2,735 on Monday, recovering losses from the previous session and tracking Wall Street's gains at the end of last week. Investors also eyed revised Japanese third-quarter economic growth data, which indicated the country's second straight quarter of expansion. Business sentiment data later this week will be closely watched for further insight into the health of the economy. However, gains were capped by ongoing global political instability. Political crises in South Korea and France, as well as...
Hong Kong stocks were mostly flat on Monday morning, trading around 19,868 after rallying in the previous session, as investors digested China's November CPI and PPI data. Mainland consumer prices rose 0.2% year-on-year, missing market consensus of 0.5% and marking the weakest gain in five months. Producer prices, meanwhile, fell 2.5%, marking a 26-month decline, although easing from a 2.9% drop in October. Source: Trading Economics
China's producer prices fell 2.5% year-on-year in November 2024, after falling 2.9% in the previous month and below market expectations of 2.8%. This marked the 26th straight month of producer deflation, reflecting continued weakness in domestic demand amid Beijing's ongoing efforts to stem the trend. On a monthly basis, producer prices edged up 0.1%, after falling 0.1% in October. For the first 11 months of the year, producer prices shrank 2.1%. Source: Trading Economics