Asian Stocks Rise With Tech Leading; Oil Declines: Markets Wrap

In this article:

(Bloomberg) -- Shares in Asia climbed after another record high on Wall Street fueled by technology shares. Oil dropped as concerns eased about Israel attacking Iranian energy facilities.

Most Read from Bloomberg

MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 0.7% on the back of gains in the chip sector. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and SoftBank Group Corp. were two of the biggest contributors to the benchmark’s advance. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average Index climbed back up to reach the highest levels since July. Benchmarks in Australia and Taiwan also advanced.

Oil dropped after the Washington Post reported that Israel doesn’t plan on striking Iranian oil or nuclear facilities.

Shares in China and Hong Kong slid, with investors on the watch for further stimulus from the Chinese government. Equity benchmarks in the country had risen on Monday even after a highly anticipated Finance Ministry weekend briefing lacked specific new incentives to boost consumption in the world’s biggest crude importer.

“It’s very important that we get the two components of stimulus together, the monetary stimulus and the fiscal stimulus, and we’re getting both.” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, on Bloomberg Television. “The fiscal stimulus is going to address key areas that I think will lead to improvements that benefit the economy and markets over the medium and longer term.”

China may raise 6 trillion yuan ($846 billion) from ultra-long special government bonds over three years as part of its efforts to boost the sputtering economy, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported.

Chinese banks are set to trim rates on 300 trillion yuan ($42.3 trillion) of deposits as soon as this week after the latest barrage of stimulus policies further squeeze their profitability, according to people familiar with the matter.

Still, there are more signs of economic weakness as a report Monday showed export growth in September unexpectedly climbed just 2.4% in dollar terms from a year earlier to the lowest level since May. That said, the country’s exports of both cars and ships hit records in September even as broader shipments slowed, underscoring the rapid changes in the nation’s industry that are fueling global trade tensions.

“The fundamentals need to see this tailwind from policy to kick the economy going again,” said Steve Brice, Standard Chartered Wealth Solutions Group CIO, on Bloomberg Television.

Meanwhile, in a show of hot demand for Japan’s biggest listing in six years, Tokyo Metro Co.’s initial public offering has raised ¥348.6 billion ($2.3 billion) after the company priced shares at the top of the marketed range, people familiar with the matter said.

Markets are also anticipating Hong Kong leader John Lee’s annual speech on Wednesday, when he is expected to make bolstering the economy a priority and lay out an agenda that includes a potential cut to a liquor tax and possible measures to strengthen the city’s status as a finance center.

With earnings reports poised to drive US sentiment this week, the S&P 500 gained almost 1% on Monday, notching another record — its 46th this year. That’s a hint investors are not deterred by the reduced forecasts for third-quarter results and are instead betting on positive surprises.

The Nasdaq 100 added 0.8%. Nvidia Corp. led gains in megacaps, Apple Inc. gained on a bullish analyst call and Tesla Inc. rebounded after last week’s plunge. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. advanced ahead of results.

Japanese stocks were among the biggest gainers Tuesday.

“Considering the situation in the US and China, there are no selling factors in the macro environment, and Japanese stocks are undervalued,” said Naoki Fujiwara, a senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co.

Treasury yields slightly ticked lower on Tuesday after cash trading was closed for a US holiday on Monday. The yen remained not far from 150 versus the dollar, a key psychological level with a risk of intervention in focus for investors.

In the US, earnings season unofficially kicked off on Friday, led by financial bellwethers JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. On top of other big banks reporting this week, traders will be paying close attention to results from key companies like Netflix Inc. and JB Hunt Transport Services Inc.

An initial round of third-quarter financial results last week showed Corporate America is benefitting from lower rates early into the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists including Ohsung Kwon and Savita Subramanian.

In other news, Biden administration officials have discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia Corp. and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ artificial intelligence capabilities.

Bitcoin steadied after rising 5% on Monday, buoyed by growing indications that the US regulatory outlook for the cryptocurrency sector will improve after the upcoming presidential election.

Key events this week:

  • Eurozone industrial production, Tuesday

  • Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup earnings, Tuesday

  • Fed’s Mary Daly, Adriana Kugler speak, Tuesday

  • Morgan Stanley earnings, Wednesday

  • ECB rate decision, Thursday

  • US retail sales, jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday

  • Fed’s Austan Goolsbee speaks, Thursday

  • China GDP, Friday

  • Fed’s Christopher Waller, Neel Kashkari speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 1:32 p.m. Tokyo time

  • Japan’s Topix rose 1%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3%

  • The Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%

  • Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.4%

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

  • The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0893

  • The Japanese yen was little changed at 149.73 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan fell 0.4% to 7.1252 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

  • Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $65,539.98

  • Ether fell 0.3% to $2,612.79

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.09%

  • Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 1.5 basis points to 0.960%

  • Australia’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.25%

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3% to $71.59 a barrel

  • Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,643.92 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

--With assistance from Shery Ahn and Jason Scott.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Advertisement