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MARKETS-WORLD WRAP
Most Asia markets extend gains after tax-fuelled Wall St records
HONG KONG, Dec 19, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Most Asian markets extended their winning
streak Tuesday, taking a lead from fresh records on Wall Street where a long-
awaited tax-cut bill is expected to be passed by US lawmakers this week.
After months of uncertainty, the controversial fiscal reforms are due to be
voted on in the next few days and could be on Donald Trump’s desk before the
end of the year, giving the embattled president his first major legislative
victory.
“Equity markets have started the week in an extremely enthusiastic manner
anticipating tax reform holiday cheer,” Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific
trading at OANDA, said.
“There’s a definite buzz on the street as we approach the finishing line as
there are few if any signs of buyer fatigue.”
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended at their highest levels for a
second successive day and those advances filtered through to Asia.
Hong Kong added 0.7 percent and Shanghai gained 0.4 percent while Sydney
put on 0.6 percent and Singapore edged up 0.1 percent.
Tokyo ended the morning slightly higher after jumping 1.6 percent on
Monday on the back of a pick-up in the dollar against the yen. Wellington and
Taipei were also higher.
– Rand surges –
However, while equity markets are pushing ever higher the dollar is
struggling to break out against its peers.
Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said traders possibly
were not as excited by the latest positive developments as their stock-
dealing counterparts.
“Not the actual growth level, not the fact the Federal Reserve is so far
ahead of the (European Central Bank or Bank of Japan) when it comes to
monetary policy, not what the Fed says it is going to do, and not that the
tax plan could add an additional impetus to growth,” he said.
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MARKETS-WORLD WRAP 2 LAST
The dollar, which rallied Friday on news that Republican senators had the
votes to pass the tax bill, struggled to hold its gains and was down against
the euro and pound.
It also lost two percent against the South African rand as investors cheered
news that the businessman Cyril Ramaphosa had been elected president of the
ruling ANC, putting him on course to take over as Jacob Zuma to lead the
country. The rand had already surged 2.8 percent on Monday.
The win has led to hopes the market-friendly Ramaphosa can turn around the
struggling economy, though analysts were guarded about his chances of
success.
“Ramaphosa’s election, in and of itself, is positive,” Christian Diclementi
at AllianceBernstein told Bloomberg News.
“But the mix of new leaders at the top of the ANC is not quite what the
market would have liked. Ramaphosa’s win perhaps buys South Africa time to
avoid further (credit) downgrades, but it’s difficult to see how that can be
avoided altogether.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT percent at 22,910.79 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 29,234.05
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,281.42
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1777 from $1.1755 at 2200 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3364 from $1.3323
Dollar/yen: UP at 112.64 yen from 112.63 yen
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP six cents at $57.22 per barrel
Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN five cents at $63.36 per barrel
New York – DOW: UP 0.6 percent at 24,792.20 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,537.01 (close)
BSS/AFP/SR/1420 HRS