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ASIA-MARKETS-UPDATE
Dollar down, most Asia stocks up as Trump-Xi talks loom
HONG KONG, Nov 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The dollar extended losses in Asia
while most equities rose after the head of the Federal Reserve hinted at a
softer pace of interest rate hikes, though investors remain wary about the
weekend’s crunch trade talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
US markets were sent soaring Wednesday after Fed chief Jerome Powell said
borrowing costs were still historically low but only “just below” the neutral
level, a rate that neither stimulates nor restrains the economy.
While the central bank is widely expected to lift rates, his comment was a
far cry from his characterisation last month of them being “a long way from
neutral”.
The fear of higher US interest rates — fuelled by a surging economy —
has been a key driver of a global equity sell-off over the past few months,
while the dollar has soared as traders put cash into the US looking for
better, safer returns.
Observers said the remarks provided some much-needed cheer after months of
negativity and ahead of the festive period.
“If you were looking for a trigger for a December rally in equities, we
got it … from the Federal Reserve,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst
at Markets.com.
“Powell’s statement on the neutral rate was taken as a dovish assertion by
markets and in many ways you could say the Fed chair just turned Santa for
equity investors.”
The dollar was down against its major peers as well as high-yielding and
emerging market currencies, which have suffered a painful 2018. The pound
even managed to strengthen despite warnings about the dire consequences of a
no-deal Brexit from the Bank of England.
Among the big winners, the South African rand and Mexican peso each
climbed around 1.5 percent, while Indonesia’s rupiah, the Australian dollar
and Indian rupee all jumped more than one percent.
“We have turned more positive on Asian currencies following encouraging
signs that both the US and China were willing to talk at the upcoming G20
summit,” Delphine Arrighi, an emerging market fund manager at Merian Global
Investors in London, told Bloomberg News.
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ASIA-MARKETS-UPDATE 2 LAST HONG KONG
– No ‘meaningful reform’ offer –
Most Asian equities tracked a rally in New York, where the Dow and S&P 500
surged more than two percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq piled on three
percent.
Tokyo was 0.4 percent higher, Sydney added 0.6 percent, Singapore put on
0.7 percent and Seoul was up 0.3 percent. Wellington, Manila, Mumbai and
Jakarta also registered strong gains.
However, profit-taking dragged Hong Kong down 0.9 percent in the afternoon
while Shanghai sank 1.3 percent.
In early trade London rose 0.5 percent, Paris jumped one percent and
Frankfurt was 0.7 percent up.
Powell is “taking away the concern about aggressive interest-rate
increases, which resolves one of the issues that hung over the markets during
the last couple of months”, Bob Phillips, at Spectrum Management Group, said.
“We still have the trade war issue with China and we’ll see how that works
out this week. If that comes out positive, we’ll have a decent rally at the
end of the year.”
The meeting between the leaders of the world’s top two economies is being
watched with trepidation following a series of mixed signals from Washington.
In the latest development ahead of Saturday’s talks at the G20 in Buenos
Aires, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Beijing had failed to
offer “meaningful reform” on its trade policies that he says hurts US jobs.
Taking aim at “China’s aggressive, state-directed industrial policies”,
Lighthizer also threatened tariffs on Chinese autos.
His comments come a day after top White House advisor Larry Kudlow told
journalists Trump “said there’s a good possibility we can make a deal” and
two days after the president warned of more levies if he and Xi do not reach
an agreement.
Oil prices edged up but remain under pressure around 13-month lows after
Wednesday’s plunge of about 1.5 percent, which was fuelled by a tenth
straight weekly increase in US stockpiles, adding to fears of a supply
overhang.
– Key figures around 0820 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 22,262.60 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,451.03 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 2,567.44 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,041.81
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2833 from $1.2824 at 2140 GMT
Euro/pound: UP at 88.78 pence from 88.61 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1387 from $1.1369
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.25 yen from 113.65
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 32 cents at $50.61
Oil – Brent Crude: UP 21 cents at $58.97 per barrel
New York – Dow Jones: UP 2.5 percent at 25,366.43 (close)
BSS/AFP/HR/1440