Indian Morning Briefing: Mixed Asian Markets; Japan’s headline CPI rose 3.7% in October

GLOBAL MARKETS 
DJIA             33546.32     -7.51    -0.02% 
Nasdaq           11144.96    -38.70    -0.35% 
S&P 500           3946.56    -12.23    -0.31% 
FTSE 100          7346.54     -4.65    -0.06% 
Nikkei Stock     27980.14     49.57     0.18% 
Hang Seng        18373.90    328.24     1.82% 
Kospi             2458.94     16.04     0.66% 
SGX Nifty*       18420.00      45.0     0.24% 
*Nov contract 
 
USD/JPY     139.87-88  -0.23% 
Range       140.49   139.85 
EUR/USD     1.0367-70  +0.03% 
Range       1.0380   1.0358 
 
CBOT Wheat Dec $8.066 per bushel 
Spot Gold  $1,763.20/oz 0.2% 
Nymex Crude (NY) $81.86  -$3.73 
 
 
US STOCKS 

Stocks fell as investor enthusiasm for a possible slowing of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve faded.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, paring its larger losses earlier in the day. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down less than 0.1%. All three indices remain up for November.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said interest rates needed to rise to restrain the economy to an extent that brings inflation back to the Fed’s target.

“Much of the market rally over the past week has been driven by expectations that the Fed will pivot imminently,” said Edward Park, chief investment officer at Brooks Macdonald. “The Fed has made it clear that it won’t.”

 
 
ASIAN STOCKS 

Japanese stocks were higher in early trading, even after data showed headline consumer inflation rose 3.7% from a year earlier in October. The CPI exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the seventh consecutive month. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.2% at 27,999.28.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8% to 2461.50 in what appears to be a technical rebound after the benchmark on Thursday posted its biggest one-day drop since mid-October. However, gains could be limited after Fed officials reiterated their hawkish stance on rate hikes overnight, analysts said.

Hong Kong shares were up in morning trade, with the benchmark Hang Seng gaining 1.3% to 18275.02. Chinese tech giants led the rise after the sector soared on Wall Street overnight as investors hailed the latest results from Alibaba. After the recent rally in the HSI, analysts at Central China International warn of potential downside risk to the market, noting continued external risk factors including a slowing global economy and high interest rates . Defensive and high-dividend-yielding stocks may still be a good bet despite those sectors’ less impressive jump in recent sessions, they say.

Chinese equities are higher, following broad gains among other Asian equities. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3117.79, the Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.2% to 2043.62 and the ChiNext Price Index rose 0.7% at 2401.48. Shares of Chinese liquor stocks were higher, with Kweichow Moutai gaining 0.3% and Wuliangye Yibin up 0.7%. China’s daily Covid-19 cases have risen to their highest level since March, raising fears that Chinese authorities are introducing tougher restrictions to fight the virus, ABC analyst Vivek Dhar has said. in a note: “The next few weeks will help expose policymakers’ bias with China’s Covid-zero policy.”

FOREX 

Most Asian currencies gained against the USD in the Asian morning session on risk appetite driven by gains in regional equity markets. However, currency strength could be dampened by hawkish comments from Fed officials, analysts said. St. Louis Fed Chairman Bullard said overnight that the federal funds rate was “not yet in a zone that could be considered sufficiently restrictive” and should reach at least 5% to 5, 25% to control inflation, Carol Kong, economist and currency strategist at the ABC, said in a research report. USD/KRW fell 0.4% to 1,338.71 and USD/THB edged down 0.1% to 35.80 and AUD/USD rose 0.2% to 0 ,6698.

METALS 

Gold prices edged higher in early Asian trading, after falling overnight on a stronger dollar and Treasury yields following hawkish comments from St. Louis Fed Chairman James Bullard . “A deeper retracement cannot be ruled out for gold as it remains at the mercy of the US dollar and broader sentiment,” DailyFX analyst Zain Vawda said in a note, adding that the precious metal remains vulnerable below the key $1,800 level. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,763.20 an ounce.

OIL SUMMARY 

Oil prices were higher at the start of Asian trading, recovering from losses overnight. However, concerns over China’s zero Covid policy will likely continue to cloud the outlook for energy demand. “China’s Covid concerns are on everyone’s mind, and with local surges leading to prolonged lockdowns, oil prices are falling tangentially to this growing likelihood,” said Stephen Innes, partner. director of SPI Asset Management, in a note. There are also signs oil markets are easing, ANZ analysts said in a note. “Demand for winter barrel deliveries has declined despite the impending expiry of European sanctions against Russian crude,” they said. First-month WTI futures rose 0.6% to 82 / $16/bbl; First-month Brent rose 0.4% to $90.11/bbl.

 
 
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(END) Dow Jones Newswire

November 17, 2022 10:15 p.m. ET (03:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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