TOKYO/HONG KONG (Dow Jones)–The stock markets in East Asia and Australia were mostly in the red on Tuesday. Weighing on sentiment are the latest US inflation data, which suggested that a Interest rate cut the US Federal Reserve could take a while longer to arrive. An interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank (PBoC), which has now taken place and has been longed for for a long time, does not provide any boost, although, according to observers, it was higher than expected.
The PBoC has reduced the five-year key interest rate (LPR), on which real estate loans from Chinese banks are based, by 25 basis points to 3.95 percent. However, the central bank left the one-year LPR unchanged. The market had long been hoping for an interest rate cut to support the Chinese economy, which is only slowly recovering from the consequences of the pandemic. However, the move may have come too late, says Zhaopeng Xing, senior China strategist at ANZ Research. By saving the ailing domestic real estate sector, the PBoC is not yet solving the real problem of the Chinese economy, namely the fundamentally weak demand.
In Shanghai, the composite index fell by 0.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 0.5 percent. Real estate stocks are performing slightly better than the broader market. The price of the real estate company Longfor rose by almost 1 percent. However, technology and automotive stocks are selling. JD.com loses around 3 percent, BYD falls by 3.7 percent.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo is 0.3 percent in the red. In Seoul the Kospi falls by 1.2 percent. Investors here are taking profits after the South Korean stock market rose for two days in a row.
The Australian stock market closed narrowly maintained. The share price of mining heavyweight BHP fell by 1.3 percent after presenting mixed business figures. However, the mining and raw materials sectors generally weakened. Rio Tinto lost 2.3 percent and Forterscue 0.7 percent. The shares of the pathology company Sonic Healthcare fell by 7.6 percent; The company’s profits almost halved in the first half of the financial year. The protective glove manufacturer Ansell (-2%) has cut its dividend due to lower demand.
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Index (stock market) last +/- % % YTD end
S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) 7,659.00 -0.1% +0.9% 06:00
Nikkei-225 (Tokyo) 38,353.83 -0.3% +15.0% 07:00
Kospi (Seoul) 2,648.61 -1.2% -0.3% 07:00
Shanghai Comp. 2,903.50 -0.2% -2.4% 08:00
Hang-Seng (Hongk.) 16,076.46 -0.5% -4.2% 09:00
Straits-Times (Sing.) 3,227.23 +0.0% -0.6% 10:00
KLCI (Malaysia) 1,546.65 +0.5% +5.4% 10:00
FOREX last +/- % 00:00 Mon, 8:43 am % YTD
EUR/USD 1.0766 -0.1% 1.0779 1.0786 -2.5%
EUR/JPY 161.95 +0.1% 161.82 161.74 +4.1%
EUR/GBP 0.8557 -0.0% 0.8558 0.8545 -1.4%
GBP/USD 1.2580 -0.1% 1.2595 1.2624 -1.2%
USD/JPY 150.43 +0.2% 150.12 149.95 +6.8%
USD/KRW 1,337.63 +0.3% 1,333.67 1,334.90 +3.1%
USD/CNY 7.1100 -0.0% 7.1132 7.1131 +0.1%
USD/CNH 7.2100 -0.0% 7.2118 7.2102 +1.2%
USD/HKD 7.8219 +0.0% 7.8209 7.8208 +0.1%
AUD/USD 0.6527 -0.2% 0.6538 0.6545 -4.1%
NZD/USD 0.6137 -0.2% 0.6148 0.6151 -2.9%
Bitcoin
BTC/USD 51,982.28 +0.1% 51,942.47 52,393.71 +19.4%
ROHOEL most recently VT-Settlem. +/-% +/- USD% YTD
WTI/Nymex 79.49 79.19 +0.4% +0.30 +10.1%
Brent/ICE 83.45 83.56 -0.1% -0.11 +8.5%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold (spot) 2,017.98 2,018.04 -0.0% -0.06 -2.2%
Silver (spot) 22.95 23.03 -0.3% -0.08 -3.5%
Platinum (spot) 897.03 903.00 -0.7% -5.98 -9.6%
Copper future 3.82 3.82 -0.7% -0.03 -2.1%
YTD based on the closing price of the previous day
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2024 00:46 ET (05:46 GMT)