Global shares rise, with Japan, China stocks down, Hong Kong up
ALBAWABA – Asia stocks mostly rose Wednesday, with slides in Japan and increases in Australia and India, Hong Kong stocks rising and China’s domestic benchmark edging down, news agencies reported.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed nearly 1 percent, according to Reuters. Whereas China’s domestic benchmark CSI 300 index (the Shanghai Composite Index) dropped shed 0.4 percent, as reported by Bloomberg.
Hong Kong stocks rose after data showed a strong credit expansion in the world’s second-largest economy, while Japan’s Sony shares slid 1.7 percent on the recent Microsoft-Activision deal.
The decline of Sony’s stocks inflicted the biggest hit on Japan’s Topix index, which slipped 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, stocks in Europe and the United States (US) ticked higher on hopes that the Federal Reserve (Fed) pauses interest rate hikes in July.
S&P 500 futures were unchanged. But the S&P 500 index rose 0.7 percent.
Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.1 percent, with the Nasdaq 100 index edging up 0.5 percent and Euro Stoxx 50 futures rising 0.4 percent.
Hopes of Fed pinning rates drive US, Euro stocks
A US dollar gauge dropped to the lowest since April and Treasury yields steadied, Bloomberg reported.
High US inflation is eroding the value of the US dollar, which is pushing the Fed to raise interest rates.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the US consumer price index to have increased by 3.1 percent in June, down from May’s 4 percent, which indicates slowing US inflation. The core rate is expected to drop from 5.3 percent to 5 percent.
Likewise, a Bloomberg survey also showed expectations for both core and headline US inflation to moderate.
Nonetheless, Reuter’s expected core rate is still more than double the Fed’s 2 percent target.
The greenback’s weakness comes as traders focus on US consumer price data due later Wednesday.
With inflation slowing, traders expect the central bank to halt further rate hikes, which bolster the value of the US dollar.
In the meantime, Markets are pricing in a 92.4 percent chance the Fed will raise interest rates by 0.25 percent in July, the CME FedWatch tool showed, as reported by Reuters.
“Investors await for US CPI and PPI data and any confirmation of slowdown in inflationary pressure will probably accelerate the current trend of declines in the dollar,” Takeshi Ishida, currency strategist at Resona Bank, told Bloomberg.
Stocks and markets summary by Bloomberg
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5 percent
Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.4 percent
Japan’s Topix index fell 0.4 percent
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1 percent
China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4 percent
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent
Gold and Currencies
Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,939.03 an ounce
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1031
The Japanese yen rose 0.6 percent to 139.54 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.3 percent to 7.1911 per dollar
The Australian dollar rose 0.4 percent to $0.6711
The British pound rose 0.2 percent to $1.2957
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.2 percent to $30,631.22
Ether rose 0.5 percent to $1,883.14
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.96 percent
Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.470 percent
Australia’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.15 percent
