Asia-Pacific Images Studio
Asia-Pacific equity markets mostly advance on Thursday as market participants assessed business activity data in Hong Kong and trade figures in Australia, which both missed expectations; and taking cues from a strong lead on Wall Street.
Japan (NKY:IND) +0.89%. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3% to around 40,700 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.4% to 2,884 on Thursday, with the Topix closing in on record-high levels previously set in December 1989.
China (SHCOMP) -0.46%. The index reversed losses from the previous session as investors digested the recent business activity reports in China while waiting for forthcoming inflation due next week.
Traders continued to hope that China will ramp up fiscal deployment in H2 of 2024 while economists expect the Third Plenum this month will roll out more policy support to boost an economic revival.
Hong Kong (HSI) +0.15%. The S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI dropped to 48.2 in June 2024, down from 49.2 in the previous month.
India (SENSEX) +0.27%. The BSE Sensex tracked a rise in the Asian peers, surpassing the historic 80,000 mark, while the Nifty 50 rose 0.2%, climbing above 24,300.
Traders continued to attempt to maintain their upward momentum from the previous week amid solid economic data after the Sensex also briefly crossed the 80,000 mark on Wednesday before closing at 79,986.
Australia (AS51) +1.21%. Australia’s trade surplus came in below forecasts in May as imports grew faster than exports.
In the U.S., on Wednesday, all three major indexes ended mostly higher in a shortened session as the latest US economic data reinforced the case for the Fed’s interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, June’s FOMC meeting minutes indicated Fed officials need more evidence that US inflation is easing.
Investors now look ahead to the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, for further guidance. At the same time, investors kept an eye on Biden’s candidacy following his adverse performance last week in the first US presidential debate.
Bitcoin prices tumbled again below the key psychological mark of $60,000, hitting a two-month low as the largest cryptocurrency failed to sustain a recent rebound, with analysts pointing to the potential start of Mt. Gox creditor repayments as the likely main culprit.
Currencies: (JPY:USD), (CNY:USD), (AUD:USD), (INR:USD), (HKD:USD), (NZD:USD).