Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Thursday as the Japanese yen weakened to a near 38-year low, hitting 160.82 against the U.S. dollar. Two months ago, the yen breached the 160 level, prompting JapanÂ’s first currency intervention since 2022. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki expressed concerns about the economic impact of foreign exchange fluctuations.
JapanÂ’s retail sales growth for May was 3% year-on-year, surpassing the market forecast of 2%. Meanwhile, ChinaÂ’s industrial profits grew 3.4% year-on-year from January to May, reaching 2.75 trillion Chinese yuan ($378.41 million). For the first four months of this year, ChinaÂ’s industrial profits had risen by 4.3%.
In the stock markets, JapanÂ’s Nikkei 225 declined by 1% and the Topix lost 0.5%. Hong KongÂ’s Hang Seng index led regional losses, dropping more than 2%, while Mainland ChinaÂ’s CSI 300 fell 0.41%. South KoreaÂ’s Kospi decreased by 0.48%, and the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.37% lower. AustraliaÂ’s S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.35%.
In the U.S. overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.04%, the S&P 500 rose 0.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.49%, led by Amazon shares, which jumped 3.9%. Amazon reached an all-time high and a market value of $2 trillion for the first time, joining the ranks of Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft.
The post Thursday 27th June 2024: Asian Markets Open Lower Amid Yen Weakness first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.
Leave a Reply