Asian Stock Market: Trade/geopolitical fears trim gains of ASX 200, Nikkei 225
- Asian shares trade mixed as noise surrounding China confronts upbeat comments/data from Australia and Japan.
- Indian equities ignore Beijing’s warning, Indonesia’s IDX shrugs off Moody’s comments.
- Global markets await return of the US/Canadian traders, Brexit, German trade number and EU GDP will also be in focus.
Shares in Asia dwindle amid mixed catalysts while heading into Tuesday’s European session. While portraying the same, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan drops 0.10% but Japan’s Nikkei 225 adds around 0.50% by the press time. A search for the factors behind the recent moves can lead us towards geopolitical tension between the US and China, as well as New Delhi and Beijing, coupled with welcome prints of Japan’s GDP and optimism shared by the BOJ policymaker.
Also on the positive side could be the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) Business Confidence and Business Conditions, not to forget the weekly employment. The same help ASX 200 to gain over 0.50% despite calls of a rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
New Zealand’s NZX 50 follows the suit amid a lack of major data but Chinese indices are down over 1.0% as the US signals ban of cotton important from Xinjiang province. Earlier during the day, China retaliated against the American move to change visa laws for overseas reporters.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng drops 0.25% whereas Indonesia’s IDX Composite trim the early-day gains while staying 0.15% up from the previous day’s close as Indonesian Consumer Confidence improves but Moody’s warn of the Retail Sales growth. India’s BSE Sensex adds 0.57% to 38,628 as we write, shrugging off China’s warnings near the border pay at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
It should additionally be noted that the S&P 500 Futures gain around 0.40% but the US 10-year Treasury yields drop 1.5 basis points (bps) to 0.708% by the press time.
Moving on, a light calendar may keep disappointing the momentum watchers. However, the return of the US and Canadian traders, coupled with the eighth round of Brexit talks, can offer intermediate moves.