Day: August 13, 2024

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key US inflation reports later in the day and tomorrow, with the data likely to impact the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

There remains optimism about an interest rate cut by the US Fed in September. The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating a rate cut in September, with a 51.5 percent probability for a 25 basis points cut and a 48.5 percent probability for a rate cut of 50 basis points.

Extending the gains in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Tuesday after opening in the red, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 7,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 8.90 points or 0.11 percent to 7,822.60, after touching a high of 7,828.60 and a low of 7,801.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 10.00 points or 0.13 percent to 8,038.50. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 3 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Santos is adding almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is edging up 0.4 percent and Xero is gaining almost 1 percent, while Zip is losing almost 1 percent, Afterpay owner Block is declining more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is slipping almost 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is gaining 3.5 percent, Northern Star resources is adding almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is surging almost 5 percent, while Evolution Mining and Newmont are advancing more than 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Temple & Webster are skyrocketing more than 23 percent after the online retailer posted record revenues for the 2024 financial year, up 26 percent on the prior year.

Shares in Seek are tumbling more than 9 percent after lower job ads across the region hit its bottom line.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.659 on Tuesday.

Adding to the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is sharply higher in post-holiday trading on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 is surging more than 2.5 percent to above the 35,900 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with strong gains across all the sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 35,785.55, up 760.55 points or 2.17 percent, after touching a high of 36,025.92 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher Friday prior to the holiday on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are surging almost 6 percent each, while Screen Holdings is advancing more than 6 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 4 percent. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is flat.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent and Sony is gaining more than 5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 4 percent and Canon is up almost 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Rakuten Group is skyrocketing more than 9 percent and Trend Micro is soaring more than 8 percent, while Ebara and Sompo Holdings are surging more than 7 percent each. Keyence, Tokio Marine and Odakyu Electric Railway are gaining almost 7 percent each.
Nitto Denko, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, TDK and IHI are adding more than 6 percent each, while Socionext and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are advancing almost 6 percent each.

Conversely, Sharp is plunging more than 6 percent, while Yamato Holdings and Meiji Holdings are losing more than 4 percent each. Nippon Express is down almost 4 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 147 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each. New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia are up 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. Hong Kong is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday before eventually ending the day little changed. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line and finished the session narrowly mixed.

While the Dow dipped 140.53 points or 0.4 percent to 39,357.01, the S&P 500 inched up 0.23 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,344.39 and the Nasdaq rose 35.31 points or 0.2 percent to 16,780.61.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday as possibility of disruptions in supply due to escalating tensions in the Middle East outweighed OPEC’s monthly report that lowered the demand forecast for 2024. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $3.22 or about 4.2 percent at $80.06 a barrel.