Friday, 19 January 2018

Indexes in Asia increase despite Wall Street's ugly close

Posted by Olga Gorinina at 10:31 Labels: ,


A vast majority of Asian stock indexes were able to secure gains by the end of the week, although uncertainty continues to weigh on market sentiment.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 remained close to its 26-year high, with financial and automakers contributing most gains. Nintendo stocks jumped by 3.75 percent as the videogame company announced it will be releasing a series of Nintendo Switch accessories.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng continued to strengthen following a third-consecutive record close. The Shanghai composite added nearly half a percent.

Wall Street top three ended in red territory on Thursday as market participants assessed the possibility of a government shutdown later this week.

All attention is now placed at Congress, which needs to give green light to a spending bill on Friday to avoid a shutdown. A government shutdown tends to generate moderate pullbacks.

So far this year, equity indexes have added more than 4.8 percent to last year’s solid results. According to a recent report, of S&P 500 companies reporting fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, at least 78 have shown better-than-expected numbers.

On Thursday, building permits came in at a 1.302 million units rate, above an initially forecasted 1.290 million units. Housing starts were down by 8.2 percent in December to a rate of 1.192 million. Initial jobless claims notched down more than expected to 220,000.

<<< Next in Europe >>>

Ahead in today’s session, Germany’s producer price index for December is scheduled for release as of 07:00 GMT. Analysts are forecasting a 0.2 percent advance.

Also, European investors will keep an eye on UK retail sales data for December at 09:30 GMT. Economist preview a 3.0 percent annual increase, but a 0.6 percent decline on monthly basis.

<<< Next in the United States >>>

The only relevant reports will be consumer expectations and consumer sentiment for January by Michigan University, scheduled at 15:00 GMT, with 90.6 and 97.0 points seen respectively.

<<< Asian Stock Indexes at 07:30 GMT >>>

Australia ASX S&P                -11.10  -0.18% 6,119.30
Shanghai Composite             +13.11 +0.38%           3,487.86
Hong Kong Hang Seng          +2.59              +0.01%           32,124.53
Japan Nikkei 225                   +44.69            +0.19%           23,808.06

Taiwan TSEC 50 Index          +79.28            +0.72%           11,150.85

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