Iceland Cuts Key Interest Rate For Fourth Straight Time

Iceland's central bank raised its key interest rate sharply at its May meeting on Wednesday to contain the risk of a wage-price spiral in the face of strong demand pressures, and the policy board hinted that further rate hikes would bring inflation back to the target range and thereby ensure a better balanced economy.

Iceland's central bank raised its key interest rate sharply on Wednesday to contain the risk of wage-price spiral in the face of strong demand pressures and the upcoming wage negotiations. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Iceland decided to raise the benchmark interest rate, which is the rate on seven-day term deposits, by 100 basis points to 7.50 percent.

Iceland's central bank lifted its key interest rate for the fourth time this year and signaled further hikes to tame inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Iceland decided to raise the key seven-day term deposit rate by 75 basis points to 5.50 percent. A similar higher rate was last seen in May 2017.

The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, adding to the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology shares.

The China stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 55 points or 1.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,830-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets continued to be mildly positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The SCI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the broader market were capped by weakness from the financials and resource stocks. For the day, the index gained 8.49 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,828.58 after trading between 3,806.20 and 3,831.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index improved 13.80 points or 0.56 percent to end at 2,486.42. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 0.28 percent, while Bank of China contracted 1.51 percent, Agricultural Bank of China plunged 2.41 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.20 percent, Bank of Communications stumbled 2.01 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.02 percent, Jiangxi Copper declined 1.21 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) lost 0.65 percent, Yankuang Energy slumped 0.96 percent, PetroChina shed 0.61 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.75 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 1.90 percent, China Shenhua Energy dipped 0.23 percent, Gemdale dropped 0.95 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.39 percent and China Vanke rose 0.29 percent.

The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the eight-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,450 points or 5.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 25,880-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets continued to be mildly positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The TSE finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks, plastics and cement companies. For the day, the index jumped 302.23 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 25,880.60 after trading between 25,599.60 and 25,887.69. Among the actives, Cathay Financial perked 0.17 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.36 percent, First Financial collected 0.34 percent, Fubon Financial was up 0.16 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company soared 2.37 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.46 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 0.93 percent, Largan Precision improved 0.85 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.53 percent, MediaTek tanked 2.43 percent, Delta Electronics rallied 2.14 percent, Novatek Microelectronics stumbled 2.68 percent, Formosa Plastics added 0.65 percent, Nan Ya Plastics soared 3.31 percent, Asia Cement jumped 1.79 percent and CTBC Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages opened in the red on Monday but quickly bounced higher and continued to trend that way throughout the session, ending near daily highs.

The Singapore stock market has finished lower in seven straight sessions, slumping more than 55 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 4,300-point plateau although it may find traction on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets continued to be mildly positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The STI finished slightly lower again on Monday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the property stocks and industrial issues. For the day, the index dipped 5.34 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 4,297.37 after trading between 4,291.99 and 4,315.70. Among the actives, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust shed 0.44 percent, while CapitaLand Investment tumbled 1.11 percent, City Developments jumped 1.19 percent, Comfort DelGro sank 0.67 percent, DBS Group lost 0.34 percent, DFI Retail Group and Venture Corporation both rallied 1.58 percent, Genting Singapore advanced 0.66 percent, Hongkong Land plunged 3.42 percent, Keppel Ltd improved 0.57 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation was down 0.12 percent, Seatrium Limited tanked 1.68 percent, SembCorp Industries fell 0.33 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering increased 0.47 percent, SingTel stumbled 1.59 percent, Thai Beverage climbed 1.09 percent, United Overseas Bank eased 0.06 percent, UOL Group slipped 0.13 percent, Yangzijiang Financial surged 1.67 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding dropped 0.91 percent and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Keppel DC REIT, Wilmar International, SATS and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages opened in the red on Monday but quickly bounced higher and continued to trend that way throughout the session, ending near daily highs.

Producer prices in South Korea were down a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in August, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday - after rising 0.4 percent in July.