Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of Fed Meeting

RTTNews | Před 1134 dny

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks struggled for direction before ending mixed on Tuesday as investors braced for a busy week of earnings and economic data in the United States.

Fears about economic growth continued to weigh after top U.S. retailer Walmart struck a downbeat tone on the health of the U.S. consumer. Tech heavyweights Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are due to report their financial results this week.

The dollar held just below multi-decade highs while oil prices rose nearly 2 percent in Asian trade, adding to overnight gains on expectations that Russia's reduction in natural gas supply to Europe could encourage a switch to crude.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday, with investors looking for clues about the future pace or rate hikes.

The second quarter GDP figure for the U.S. is scheduled to be released on Thursday and a negative print would mean that the world's largest economy is in a technical recession.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.83 percent to 3,277.44 after reports that government authorities plan to establish a bailout fund for certain property developers.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 1.67 percent to 20,905.88. Alibaba Group shares surged 4.8 percent after the world's biggest e-commerce company said it would apply to elevate the status of its Hong Kong-traded shares to make them more accessible to mainland Chinese buyers.

Japanese shares ended lower as the minutes of Bank of Japan's June meeting cited the need to watch the impact of financial and forex market moves on the economy and prices.

The Nikkei average slipped 0.16 percent to 27,655.21 while the broader Topix index closed marginally lower at 1,943.17. Shipping and pharma stocks led losses while heavyweight SoftBank Group jumped 3.2 percent.

Seoul stocks rose modestly to extend gains for a second straight session after data showed GDP growth unexpectedly picked up in the second quarter. The Kospi average edged up 0.39 percent to settle at 2,412.96.

Australian markets ended slightly higher ahead of inflation data due on Wednesday. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.26 percent to 6,807.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.27 percent higher at 7,025.20.

Mining and energy stocks topped the gainers list on the back of higher iron ore and crude prices.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's S&P NZX-50 index dropped 0.29 percent to 11,166.56. U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as investors looked ahead to a busy week of earnings. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.4 percent, while the Dow edged up 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent.

Swiss Shares Extend Losing Streak

The Swiss stock market closed under pressure again on Tuesday, stretching its losing streak to three sessions while giving up more than 130 points or 1.1 percent in that span.

RTTNews | Před 3 h 3 min

Eurozone Inflation Path Suggests ECB Unlikely To Cut Rates Further

Euro area inflation modestly accelerated to a four-month high, and the core figure was steady around the 2 percent target in August as a slight slowing in both food price growth and services inflation was offset by a smaller decline in energy prices, which suggests that the European Central Bank is set to hold interest rates steady in future policy sessions.

RTTNews | Před 3 h 9 min

European Markets Finish In The Red On Tuesday

The major European markets finished firmly under water on Tuesday after Eurostat data showed Eurozone inflation rose to 2.1 percent last month, climbing above the European Central Bank's 2 percent target for the first time since April driven by higher prices for food, alcohol and tobacco.

RTTNews | Před 3 h 16 min

U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Edges Lower In July

A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the month of July. The Commerce Department said construction spending slipped by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $2.139 trillion in July after falling by 0.4 to a revised rate of $2.141 trillion in June.

RTTNews | Před 5 h 17 min