Hong Kong (AFP) – Stock markets fluctuated Monday as investors took a step back after last week’s rally fuelled by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. Tokyo led the winners after Japan’s central bank said it would sell off its huge stock of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) gradually, having sparked a sell-off Friday by announcing plans to offload the holdings as part of a shift away from its loose monetary policy.
Investors also took some heart from talks between Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday that the US president said “made progress on many very important issues,” including a deal to sell blockbuster social media app TikTok. He added that the pair would meet Xi on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea at the end of next month and that he would travel to China next year.
“While lacking apparent substance…it does look to have helped create a positive atmosphere to enable extension of the ongoing US-China detente,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill. Equities have enjoyed a healthy run-up in recent months on optimism that the US central bank will lower borrowing costs as worries over a softening labour market trump stubbornly high inflation.
Tokyo was the standout performer Monday, rising one percent, after the Bank of Japan said it would sell its ETFs — bought as part of a campaign of monetary easing aimed at kickstarting the sluggish economy — gradually. Its announcement Friday that it planned to offload its stockpile sent shivers through Japanese markets, sending the Nikkei sharply lower. Monday’s gains came after officials said they would trim the holdings steadily, at a pace observers said would take around 100 years to complete.
There were also gains in Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, and Taipei, while Hong Kong, Singapore, Wellington, Manila, Bangkok, and Jakarta fell. Mumbai edged down as India’s $283 billion tech sector took a hit after Trump on Friday ordered an annual $100,000 fee be added to new H-1B skilled worker visas, creating potentially major repercussions for the tech industry where such permits are prolific. Shares in Tata Consultancy Services fell three percent and rival Infosys shed 2.7 percent. London, Paris, and Frankfurt dipped.
– Key figures at around 0810 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 45,493.66 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 26,344.14 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,828.58 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,207.22
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1750 from $1.1745 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3482 from $1.3472
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.05 yen from 147.90 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.16 pence from 87.18 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $63.01 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $67.03 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 46,315.27 (close)
© 2024 AFP
