- Rising concerns over inflation, growth forecasts keep Asia-Pacific equities heavy.
- Covid news from China underpins rebound in stock futures but firmer yields weigh on mood.
- NZ, Indonesia budgets fail to renew optimism, Aussie jobs report came in mixed.
Markets in Asia-Pacific see the red, despite the recent rebound, as fears of inflation and growth battle cautious optimism in China during early Thursday. While portraying the mood, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan dropped by around 2.0% whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 prints a 1.72% daily loss by the press time.
Shares in China recently pare losses, despite being in the red, as a fall in China’s covid numbers joins the gradual re-opening of Shanghai.
Australia’s ASX 200 and New Zealand’s NZX 50 dropped 1.56% and 0.90% respectively even as the mixed Aussie employment report for April couldn’t please stock investors, and neither did New Zealand’s budget that tried to help citizens battle inflation woes. However, Indonesia’s energy subsidies in the annual budget proposal manage to help IDX Composite to buck the broad bearish trend with 0.35% intraday gains.
Moving on South Korea’s KOSPI and India’s BSE Sensex drop more than 1.0% as traders mull over growth fears amid higher budget deficit and energy prices, as well as inflation fears across the globe.
On a broader front, Wall Street benchmarks posted the biggest daily loss in nearly two years as major investment banks downgrade growth forecasts after the recent bout of multi-year high inflation in developed economies. It’s worth noting, however, that S&P 500 Futures print mild gains around 3,930, after a downbeat start of the day, whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields rise 2.2 basis points (bps) to 2.90% by the press time.
Moving on, a light calendar puts investors at the mercy of risk catalysts and hence chatters surrounding inflation and growth may keep equities under pressure.
Also read: Dollar gains as fall in US stocks trigger risk aversion
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD flirts with 1.0700 post-US PMIs
EUR/USD maintains its daily gains and climbs to fresh highs near the 1.0700 mark against the backdrop of the resumption of the selling pressure in the Greenback, in the wake of weaker-than-expected flash US PMIs for the month of April.
GBP/USD surpasses 1.2400 on further Dollar selling
Persistent bearish tone in the US Dollar lends support to the broad risk complex and bolsters the recovery in GBP/USD, which manages well to rise to fresh highs north of 1.2400 the figure post-US PMIs.
Gold trims losses on disappointing US PMIs
Gold (XAU/USD) reclaims part of the ground lost and pares initial losses on the back of further weakness in the Greenback following disheartening US PMIs prints.
Here’s why Ondo price hit new ATH amid bearish market outlook Premium
Ondo price shows no signs of slowing down after setting up an all-time high (ATH) at $1.05 on March 31. This development is likely to be followed by a correction and ATH but not necessarily in that order.
Germany’s economic come back
Germany is the sick man of Europe no more. Thanks to its service sector, it now appears that it will exit recession, and the economic future could be bright. The PMI data for April surprised on the upside for Germany, led by the service sector.