Tuesday 20th August 2024: Asia-Pacific Markets Gain Amid Wall Street Rally

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.98%, Shanghai Composite down 1.05%, Hang Seng down 0.51% ASX up 0.22%
• Commodities : Gold at $2545.35 (0.09%), Silver at $29.59 (0.81%), Brent Oil at $77.38 (-0.359%), WTI Oil at $73.22 (-0.62%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.878, UK 10-year yield at 3.926, Germany 10-year yield at 2.245

News & Data:

• (USD) CB Leading Index m/m  -0.6% vs -0.4% expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly up on Tuesday, following a strong rally on Wall Street, while investors closely examined the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest meeting.Japan’s Nikkei 225 led the region, rising over 2%, driven by gains in utilities and healthcare stocks. The broader Topix index also saw an increase of 1.3%.

In China, loan prime rates were maintained at 3.35% for the one-year LPR and 3.85% for the five-year LPR, as expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is the reference rate for mortgages.

The RBA released minutes from its August meeting, where it kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.35%. The central bank acknowledged that inflation remained “above target” and persistent. Although the board considered raising the interest rate, it ultimately decided to maintain the current rate, citing insufficient data to justify a change. The RBA cautioned that a rate cut was unlikely in the short term, and future rate adjustments could not be ruled out.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.87%, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 1%. However, consumer sentiment in South Korea fell in August to 100.8 from a two-year high, influenced by concerns over a potential U.S. recession.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.22% after the RBA’s release, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and mainland China’s CSI300 both dipped 0.42%.In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.58%, the S&P 500 rose 0.97%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.39%.

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