Latest news with #AsianShares
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Asian stocks waver as investors look to tariff negotiations, earnings
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Asian share markets drifted lower after scaling a near four-year peak on Tuesday ahead of a slate of corporate earnings, while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners. The dithering mood is set to continue in Europe where the focus will be on earnings from firms including SAP ( opens new tab and UniCredit ( opens new tab. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both dipped 0.5%, while FTSE futures eased 0.3%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last down 0.4%. The index is up nearly 16% this year. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab notched record-high closes on Monday. The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday on Monday following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post. Japanese shares (.N225), opens new tab, (.TOPX), opens new tab briefly jumped at the open but reversed course to trade lower by Tuesday afternoon, as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared. The yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last slightly weaker at 147.73 per dollar. Kristina Clifton, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the weakening of Ishiba's leadership will open the door to more fiscal expansion that is negative for Japanese assets, including the yen. "The bottom line is longer term Japanese government bond yields and JPY can fall if concerns about Japan's fiscal spending deepen." Investor focus has been on tariff negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable agreement with Washington fade. The most important deals for the global outlook are with the EU and Japan, CBA's Clifton said. "The USD reaction to the announcement of trade deals with these countries would depend on the details of the deals in our view," Clifton added, noting the dollar could turn down again against the euro and the British pound. The euro was steady at $1.1689, after rising 0.5% in the previous session but still away from the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13% this year as investors look for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties. The dollar index , a measure against six other key currencies, was at 97.905. Investors are awaiting results this week from Wall Street giants Alphabet and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, as well as from European heavyweights LVMH ( opens new tab, and Roche (ROG.S), opens new tab, as uncertainty over tariffs clouds the outlook. The rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks. Trump appeared near the point of trying to fire Powell last week, but backed off with a nod to the market disruption that would likely follow. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful, further exacerbating concerns about the independence of the U.S. central bank. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's speech later on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy. Goldman Sachs strategists expect the Fed to deliver three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts starting in September, "provided inflation expectations remain in check amidst worries about Fed independence." In commodities, Brent crude futures fell nearly 1% to $68.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1% to $66.51 per barrel.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asian stocks firm as investors look to tariff negotiations, earnings
By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian share markets held their ground near a four-year peak on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street's closing record high ahead of a slate of corporate earnings while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners. The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday in the previous session following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post. Japanese shares briefly jumped at the open before trading modestly higher, while bonds had a muted reaction as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared. The yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last little changed at 147.46 per dollar on Tuesday. Kristina Clifton, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the weakening of Ishiba's leadership will open the door to more fiscal expansion which is negative for Japanese assets, including the yen. "The bottom line is longer term Japanese government bond yields and JPY can fall if concerns about Japan's fiscal spending deepen." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last little changed. The index is up nearly 16% this year. Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record-high closes on Monday, lifted by Alphabet and other megacaps ahead of a burst of earnings reports this week. Investor focus has been on tariff negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable agreement with Washington fade. The most important deals for the global outlook are with the EU and Japan, CBA's Clifton said. "The USD reaction to the announcement of trade deals with these countries would depend on the details of the deals in our view," Clifton said, noting the dollar could turn down again against the euro and the British pound. The euro was steady at $1.1689, after rising 0.5% in the previous session but still away from the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13% this year as investors look for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties. The dollar index measure against six other key currencies was at 97.905. [FRX/] The rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks. Trump appeared near the point of trying to fire Powell last week, but backed off with a nod to the market disruption that would likely follow. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful, further exacerbating worries about the independence of the U.S. central bank. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's speech later on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy. Goldman Sachs strategists expect the Fed to deliver three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts starting in September, "provided inflation expectations remain in check amidst worries about Fed independence." In commodities, oil prices edged lower on concerns that the brewing trade war between major crude consumers the U.S. and the European Union will curb fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 0.35%, to $68.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 0.31% to $66.99 per barrel. [O/R]
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Asian stocks firm as investors look to tariff negotiations, earnings
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Asian share markets held their ground near a four-year peak on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street's closing record high ahead of a slate of corporate earnings while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners. The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday in the previous session following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post. Japanese shares (.N225), opens new tab, (.TOPX), opens new tab briefly jumped at the open before trading modestly higher, while bonds had a muted reaction as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared. The yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last little changed at 147.46 per dollar on Tuesday. Kristina Clifton, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the weakening of Ishiba's leadership will open the door to more fiscal expansion which is negative for Japanese assets, including the yen. "The bottom line is longer term Japanese government bond yields and JPY can fall if concerns about Japan's fiscal spending deepen." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last little changed. The index is up nearly 16% this year. Overnight, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab notched record-high closes on Monday, lifted by Alphabet and other megacaps ahead of a burst of earnings reports this week. Investor focus has been on tariff negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable agreement with Washington fade. The most important deals for the global outlook are with the EU and Japan, CBA's Clifton said. "The USD reaction to the announcement of trade deals with these countries would depend on the details of the deals in our view," Clifton said, noting the dollar could turn down again against the euro and the British pound. The euro was steady at $1.1689, after rising 0.5% in the previous session but still away from the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13% this year as investors look for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties. The dollar index measure against six other key currencies was at 97.905. The rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks. Trump appeared near the point of trying to fire Powell last week, but backed off with a nod to the market disruption that would likely follow. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful, further exacerbating worries about the independence of the U.S. central bank. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's speech later on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy. Goldman Sachs strategists expect the Fed to deliver three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts starting in September, "provided inflation expectations remain in check amidst worries about Fed independence." In commodities, oil prices edged lower on concerns that the brewing trade war between major crude consumers the U.S. and the European Union will curb fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 0.35%, to $68.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 0.31% to $66.99 per barrel.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asian stocks firm as investors look to tariff negotiations, earnings
By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian share markets held their ground near a four-year peak on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street's closing record high ahead of a slate of corporate earnings while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners. The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday in the previous session following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post. Japanese shares briefly jumped at the open before trading modestly higher, while bonds had a muted reaction as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared. The yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last little changed at 147.46 per dollar on Tuesday. Kristina Clifton, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the weakening of Ishiba's leadership will open the door to more fiscal expansion which is negative for Japanese assets, including the yen. "The bottom line is longer term Japanese government bond yields and JPY can fall if concerns about Japan's fiscal spending deepen." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last little changed. The index is up nearly 16% this year. Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record-high closes on Monday, lifted by Alphabet and other megacaps ahead of a burst of earnings reports this week. Investor focus has been on tariff negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable agreement with Washington fade. The most important deals for the global outlook are with the EU and Japan, CBA's Clifton said. "The USD reaction to the announcement of trade deals with these countries would depend on the details of the deals in our view," Clifton said, noting the dollar could turn down again against the euro and the British pound. The euro was steady at $1.1689, after rising 0.5% in the previous session but still away from the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13% this year as investors look for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties. The dollar index measure against six other key currencies was at 97.905. [FRX/] The rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks. Trump appeared near the point of trying to fire Powell last week, but backed off with a nod to the market disruption that would likely follow. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful, further exacerbating worries about the independence of the U.S. central bank. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's speech later on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy. Goldman Sachs strategists expect the Fed to deliver three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts starting in September, "provided inflation expectations remain in check amidst worries about Fed independence." In commodities, oil prices edged lower on concerns that the brewing trade war between major crude consumers the U.S. and the European Union will curb fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 0.35%, to $68.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 0.31% to $66.99 per barrel. [O/R] Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Asia stocks, yen look past Japan politics as earnings loom
SYDNEY, July 21 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the yen held their ground on Monday as Japanese elections proved bad for the government but no worse than already priced in, while Wall Street futures braced for earnings from the first of the tech giants. Investors were also hoping for some progress in trade talks ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick still confident a deal could be reached with the European Union. There were reports Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were closer to arranging a meeting, though likely not until October at the earliest. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stolen a march and will meet with Xi on Thursday. In Japan, the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as a tariff deadline looms. Ishiba vowed to stay in the position, which along with a market holiday, limited the reaction and the yen was 0.4% firmer at 148.29 to the dollar. "The loss was within the range of expectations, and actually the outlook was even more pessimistic," said Nissay Research Institute chief economist Tsuyoshi Ueno. "In terms of negotiations with the U.S., it is easy to doubt whether a government with such a weak foundation is reliable as a negotiating partner," he added. "For the Bank of Japan, if there is political instability, it will be difficult to raise interest rates, and pressure on the yen will continue." The BOJ still has a bias to raise rates further but markets imply little chance of a move until late October. While the Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab was shut, futures traded at 39,885 and up on the cash close of 39,819. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab eased 0.1%, while South Korean stocks (.kS11), opens new tab added 0.5%. Chinese blue chips (.CSI300), opens new tab firmed 0.3%, led by rare earth and construction sectors, as Beijing kept interest rates unchanged as widely expected. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both dipped 0.3%, while FTSE futures were flat. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both edged up 0.2%, and are already around record highs in anticipation of more solid earnings reports. A host of companies reporting this week include Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, along with IBM (IBM.N), opens new tab. Investors also expect upbeat news for defence groups RTX (RTX.N), opens new tab, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab and General Dynamics (GD.N), opens new tab. Ramped up government spending across the globe has seen the S&P 500 aerospace and defence sector rise 30% this year. Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab issued an alert about "active attacks" on server software used by government agencies and businesses, urging customers to download security updates. In bond markets, U.S. Treasury futures held steady having dipped late last week after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his call for a rate cut this month. Most of his colleagues, including Chair Jerome Powell, have argued a pause is warranted to judge the true inflationary impact of tariffs and markets imply almost no chance of a move in July. A September cut is put at 61%, rising to 80% for October. Powell's reticence on rates has drawn the ire of Trump who threatened to fire the Fed chief, before backing down. The spectre of a potential political appointee who would seek to ease policy sharply has investors on edge. The European Central Bank meets this week and is expected to hold its rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts. "The press conference will likely keep highlighting uncertainty and need to wait for tariff negotiations to conclude before deciding the next step," said analysts at TD Securities in a note. "Similarly, its 'meeting-by-meeting' language would be retained in the release." The euro was unchanged at $1.1630 in early trading, having dipped 0.5% last week and away from its recent near-four-year top of $1.1830. The dollar index was a fraction lower at 98.373 . In commodity markets, gold firmed 0.5% to $3,367 an ounce with all the recent action in platinum which last week hit its highest since August 2014. Oil prices were caught between the prospect of increased supply from OPEC+ and the risk European Union sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine could curb its exports. Brent edged up 0.1% to $69.38 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 0.2% to $67.50 per barrel.
