Asian equities were mixed Thursday, with China extending a drop, after strong US retail sales data cast fresh doubt on the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in March. Stocks in mainland China retreated, with the Shanghai Composite Index slipping below 2,800 to the lowest since 2020. The heavy selling in the world’s second-largest economy followed underwhelming economic reports and signs from Premier Li Qiang that authorities will avoid huge stimulus to revive growth.
Japan and South Korean equities advanced, while those in Australia fell. Hong Kong shares rose toward the day’s high after briefly erasing all gains. US stock futures edged lower. Investors continue to shun Chinese equities, Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG Asia Pte, wrote in a note. “China’s economic data revealed a challenging growth environment despite the series of stimulus efforts,” he added. The muted outlook for China and the repricing of expected Fed cuts have wiped 2% from global stocks this year. Recent weakness in the yen against the backdrop of strength in the greenback has nudged the Japanese currency within arm’s reach of 150 per dollar. Treasuries edged higher after further selling on Wednesday which was concentrated on the short end of the curve. The policy-sensitive two-year yield jumped 14 basis points, its biggest one-day increase since June. The 10-year rose four basis points to climb above 4.1% for the first time in more than a month.
The greenback pared most of the gains recorded Wednesday against its Group-of-10 peers. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was little changed following a report which showed the nation’s employment unexpectedly slumped in December. The drop in bond prices reflected a shift in investor expectations for a Fed rate cut in March. Swaps pricing shows the chances of such a cut slipped below 60% on Wednesday for the first time since the middle of December. That’s down from 80% on Friday. The decline followed comments from Fed officials this week pushing back against market expectations for imminent cuts and stronger-than-expected retail sales data Wednesday. Bumper consumer spending helped propel the economy in recent weeks, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey. Over in Japan, a sale of 20-year sovereign bonds recorded a lower-than-expected cut-off price, following weak auction results of other major tenors this month. In corporate news, operators of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max 9 have completed inspections on an initial batch of 40 planes, a key step to eventually end the grounding of the aircraft. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. has to stop selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches with a blood oxygen feature in the US, after suffering another legal setback in a patent dispute. Gold eked out a gain after falling more than 1% Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate climbed toward $73 per barrel Thursday while Bitcoin traded near $42,500 to head for a second day of losses. US After Hours DFS -7.9%, AA -2.3%, FUL -1.8% lower on earnings; BTU +5.4% will join S&P SmallCap 600; RAMP +9.3% higher on guidance and deal to acquire Habu; PLUG -15.2% lower on ATM to sell shares.
Nikkei -0.03% Hang Seng +0.76% CSI +0.57% Shanghai -0.45% Shenzen -0.65%
Eur$ 1.0892 CNH 7.2187 CNY 7.1965 JPY 147.99 GBP 1.2679 CHF 0.8649 RUB 88.3789 TRY 30.1419 WTI$ 72.96 +0.55% Gold 2,006 BTC 42,642 +0.02% ETH 2,525 +0.06%
S&P +0.02% Nasdaq +0.14% EuroStoxx +0.16% FTSE -0.02% Dax +0.15% SMI +0.09%
Macro :
- HSBC Strategists Warn of European Equity Correction in Near Term
- ECB Asks Some Banks to Detail Exposure to Grifols: Reuters
- Hedge Funds Cash In on New Year’s Swoon in Most-Shorted Stocks
- Luxury Stocks Face More Gloom as Warnings Grow: Earnings Watch
- EU December Car Registrations Drop 3.3% Y/y to 0.867m Units
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
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- BGC LN : Baltic Classifieds Group Holder Apax Partners Offers 17m Shares
- BAYN GY : Bayer Agrees With Worker Groups to Cut ‘Many’ Management Jobs
- BBVA SM : BBVA Plans Early Redemption of Subordinated Notes on Feb. 22
- BESI NA : Europe’s Best Tech Stock of 2023 Has Room to Run, Goldman Says
- BPSO IM : US Lender May Build 10% Stake in Italy’s Popolare Sondrio: Sole
- BP/ LN : Sinopec and BP Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation in China
- BIRK US : Birkenstock’s First Earnings Crucial After IPO Wobble: ECM Watch
- CAMX SS ; Camurus Prelim FY Revenue ~SEK1.72b, at High End of Guidance /// Offering of Shares Prices at SEK545/Share
- COTY US : Kim Kardashian Makeup Would Be Positive for Coty, Jefferies Says
- DAN IM : Italy, Metinvest, Danieli Pledge to Relaunch Tuscan Steelmaker
- DRX LN : UK Government Proposes New Funding Options For Drax’s Biomass
- EFECTE FH : Matrix24 Offers EU15 in Cash Per Share for Efecte
- ENT LN : Vexed Entain Shareholders Might Sit on £4.6 Billion BetMGM Pot
- EQT SS : EQT FY Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
- EQT SS : Swedish PE Firm EQT Plans to Exit a Number of Companies in 2024
- FLU AV : Flughafen Wien Sees 2024 Profit at Least EU210M
- FRAS LN : Frasers Group Raises Voting Rights in ASOS to 25% From 24.17%
- FRAS LN : Frasers Group Raises Voting Rights in ASOS to 25% From 24.17%
- GALE SW : Galenica FY Sales Meets Estimates
- IBE SM : Cofece will have 60 business days to resolve the agreement between Iberdrola and the AMLO Government
- LTMC IM : Apollo to Place 6.4% of Lottomatica’s Share Capital
- MAERSKB DC : Maersk Warns of Jammed Ports, Inland Delays From Red Sea Turmoil
- MOWI NO : Mowi 4Q Harvest Misses Estimates; Operating EBIT About €203M (1)
- REP SM : Repsol 4Q Downstream Refining Margin/BBL Beats Estimates
- CFR SW : Richemont 3Q Sales at Constant Exchange Rates Beats Estimates
- RILBA DC : Ringkjoebing Landbobank Sees 2024 Net Income DKK1.8B to DKK2.2B
- 2330 TT : TSMC’s Outlook Backs Hopes for Global Tech Recovery in 2024
- VIRP FP : Virbac 4Q Revenue Misses Estimates