financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
Asia stocks find some footing, Nikkei still choppy
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Asia stocks find some footing, Nikkei still choppy
Aug 6, 2024 7:14 PM

SYDNEY(Reuters) - Asian share markets were mostly firmer on Wednesday after Wall Street bounced and concerns about a U.S. recession were reassessed, though Japanese stocks took a dip as heightened volatility squeezed leveraged positions.

The Nikkei's drop of 0.6% was relatively minor compared with Monday's 13% dive and Tuesday's 10% rally, leading to hopes investors were finding their footing.

"The sell-off in Japanese stocks may almost be over," said analysts at JPMorgan in a note. "Both nonresident and individual investors have reset their year-to-date net buying."

"If the market stays at its current level, the GPIF (government pension fund) could become a net buyer by end-September, and a view that unwinding of yen carry trades is almost over has also emerged."

The GPIF is a massive fund with considerable market power and its investment decisions are highly influential.

The unravelling of the yen carry trade - where investors borrow yen at low rates to buy higher yielding assets - was a driving force in the market rout, but again seemed to be stabilising.

The dollar edged up 0.2% to 144.67 yen and away from the 141.675 trough hit on Monday, though it remains far below its July peak of 161.96. [USD/]

The dollar also gained on the safe-haven Swiss franc to 0.8532, up from Monday's low of 0.8430.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.4%, while Korean stocks added 0.8%.

After bouncing overnight, Nasdaq futures eased 0.1% in part due to a 12% dive in AI darling Super Micro Computer after it missed earnings estimates.

S&P 500 futures steadied from an early drop, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures firmed 0.5%. FTSE futures added 0.7%, and DAX futures rose 0.3%.

With safe-haven in less demand, Treasury yields ticked higher for a second session. U.S. 10-year yields were up at 3.908%, and well off Monday's low of 3.667%.

Two-year yields had climbed back to 3.997%, from a deep trough of 3.654%, as markets scaled back wagers on an intra-meeting emergency rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

Futures now imply 105 basis points of easing this year, compared with 125 basis points at one stage during Monday's turmoil, while a 50-basis-point cut in September seen as a 73% chance.

Fears of an imminent U.S. recession had also faded a little as the run of economic data still pointed to solid economic growth in the current quarter.

The Atlanta Fed's much-watched GDPNow estimate is that gross domestic product is running at an annual pace of 2.9%.

In commodity markets, gold prices were holding at $$2,386 an ounce and short of last week's $2,477 top.[GOL/]

Oil prices remained volatile as concerns about waning global demand warred with the risk of supply disruptions in the Middle East. [O/R]

Brent slipped 18 cents to $76.30 per barrel, while U.S. crude fell 26 cents to $72.94 a barrel.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Update: WTI Crude Oil Closes at a Fresh Five-Month High on Positive China Data, OPEC+ Cuts
Update: WTI Crude Oil Closes at a Fresh Five-Month High on Positive China Data, OPEC+ Cuts
Mar 19, 2024
03:00 PM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose to another five-month high on Tuesday on optimism over Chinese demand amid continuing OPEC+ supply cuts. WTI crude for April delivery closed up US$0.75 to settle at US$83.47 per barrel, the highest since late October, while May Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed up US$0.49 to...
US Treasury Reports Net Securities Outflow in January Based on TICS Data
US Treasury Reports Net Securities Outflow in January Based on TICS Data
Mar 19, 2024
04:08 PM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US Treasury reported Tuesday that there was a net combined $8.8 billion outflow of long-term, short-term, and banking flows in January, compared with a $137.4 billion inflow in December. Long-term securities transactions represented a $36.1 billion inflow overall while short-term transactions were a net $32 billion outflow, while bank liabilities were a...
EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies, stocks slip ahead of Fed decision
EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies, stocks slip ahead of Fed decision
Mar 19, 2024
(Updated at 3:30pm ET/1930 GMT) By Sruthi Shankar March 19 (Reuters) - Gauges of both Latin American currencies and stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Brazilian real weakening past 5 per dollar for a second day as investors awaited monetary policy news in Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates...
European Equities Close Mostly Higher Tuesday; French GDP Is Stable; Unilever to Spin Off Ice Cream Unit
European Equities Close Mostly Higher Tuesday; French GDP Is Stable; Unilever to Spin Off Ice Cream Unit
Mar 19, 2024
01:25 PM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mostly higher in Tuesday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.26%, France's CAC rose 0.65%, the FTSE in London gained 0.2%, and Germany's DAX increased 0.31%, while the Swiss Market Index fell 0.39%. Hourly labor costs rose 3.4% in Q4 in the euro area and 4.0% in...
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved