Asia-Pacific stock indexes were mixed during the previous trading week

European stock market gained despite weak economic data

Shares of major European companies advanced significantly during the previous trading week, as all biggest stock indexes of the region erased looses of last six months, pushing it to the green zone. Nevertheless, consumer prices in the Euro zone fell 0.1% in September, driven down by the 8.9% drop in energy prices from a year earlier. Markit’s final manufacturing PMI for the region fell from 52.3 points in August to 52.0 points in September. However, Euro zone’s gauges of confidence rose in September, with the business climate index climbing to 0.34, while the economic sentiment indicator, merging business and consumer surveys, rose to 105.6.

The Eurostoxx 600 gauge, which represents largest companies from the whole region, gained 1.8% to close at 347.86 points on Friday’s evening. Unlike one week before, all the sectors included in the index gain in value, while the energy and basic materials industries soared the most, by 11.3% and 10.66%. Among major gainers, SBM Offshore NV obtain more than 22% to trade 11.214 euros. Zardoya Otis SA, a Spain-based company primarily engaged in the manufacture and installation and maintenance of elevators and escalators, followed with an increase of 14.4% to 10.14 euros per share. Among worst-performing companies, National Bank of Greece plunged 29.8% to 0.365 euros.

British FTSE 100 Index, also, advanced 2.8% to 6,129.98 points, while German DAX went up 0.73% to close at a 9,536 mark on Friday’s evening.

American equities traded lower despite Janet Yellen announcement

In course of the previous working week, stock market in the United States denied the trend of the week before, as all major indexes posted significant gains from Monday to Friday. A disappointing monthly jobs report indicated surprising softness in the US economy, adding to concerns about global weakness. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of national factory activity fell from 51.1 in August to 50.2 in September, its slowest pace in more than two years. On the other hand, US consumers spent another 0.4% more in August, after monthly gains of 0.4% in July and 0.3% in June. The price index for personal consumption expenditures, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, was flat from July to August and up only 0.3% from a year earlier.

The largest S&P 500 Index added 3.7% in five trading days of the last week to 1,951.36 points. Sandisk Corp, provides flash storage solutions, went up 17.1% last week to trade at $59.58 per share on Friday, after Chinese company Unisplendour announced it will take a 15% stake in Western Digital. Meanwhile, concerning the losers, Mattel Inc.,an American multinational toy manufacturing company lost 11.9% to close at a $19.93 mark.

Alongside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.94% to 16,472.37 points, showing the strong upward movement. NASDAQ, in turn, skyrocketed 3.6% to 4,707.77 points.

Asia-Pacific stock indexes were mixed during the previous trading week

Among world’s largest financial markets, the Asia-Pacific shares performed in the less successful way during September 28—October 2 trading week. Markets in this region, however, were mostly driven by a number of particular sectors, as well as fundamental news. China’s September manufacturing data continued to show contraction. The government’s manufacturing PMI nudged up to 49.8 points in September, while the Markit Caixin PMI slipped by 0.1 points to 47.2 points in September. Industrial profits fell 8.8% in August from a year earlier, the largest drop in four years.

The most important S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.4%% in total value to hit the 5,052 mark in the end of trading session on Friday of the last week. The positive performance was provided by consumer discretionary and consumer staples, as they both advanced 2.6% and 2.08% in five days. With larger gap, basic materials and technology sectors followed with a rise of 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively. The gains were led by OZ Minerals Ltd, an a modern mining company focused on copper, which climbed 14.1% to $3.87 per share, Meanwhile, health care and energy sectors slipped 0.8% and 0.5%, accordingly. The biggest losses were experienced by Credit Corp Group Ltd, which plunged 14.9% to $9.49.

Speaking about other major Asian stock markets, Hang Seng dipped 2.6% to 21,506.09 points, while NZX 50 Index added as much as 0.07% to trade at 5,593.51 points.

EXPLANATIONS

Indexes

• Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) or (SPX) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 500 large-cap shares widely traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (INDU) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 30 large publicly owned U.S. companies , primarily industrials

• NASDAQ Composite Index - U.S. stock market index representing all the stocks that are traded on the Nasdaq stock market, mostly technology and Internet-related

• New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index (NZX 50) - stock market index consisting of the top 50 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock exchange

• S&P/ASX 200 -a market-capitalization weighted stock market index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange from Standard and Poor’s

• Hang Seng Index (HI) - Hong Kong’s stock market index consisting of 48 largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchange

• Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei 225 Index) or (NKY) - Japanese stock market index consisting of the 225 largest companies listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange

• FTSE 100 Index (UKX) - U.K. stock market index consisting of the 100 most capitalized U.K. companies trading on the London Stock Exchange

• DAX Index (DAX) - German stock market index consisting of the 30 largest and most liquid German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

• Eurostoxx 600 - stock market index, derived from the Stoxx Europe Total Market Index, consisting of 600 large, mid– and small-sized companies from 18 European countries

Chart

• Correlation - statistical measure of the linear relationship between two random variables. It is defined as the covariance divided by the standard deviation of two variables.

• Historical price changes - chart reflecting the historical price changes of particular region’s stock indices

Indicators

• Industry performance - weekly performance of industries within the particular stock market index

• Top performers - companies within a particular stock market index showing the best or worst weekly performance

• Performance - relative historical change of stock market index value

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