HONG KONG, Dec 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Asian markets edged up Wednesday but
investors appear to be taking their foot off the pedal after the recent trade
deal-fuelled rally, while sterling extended losses after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson fanned fresh fears of a no-deal Brexit.
The region was given yet another strong lead from Wall Street, where all
three main indexes clocked up more records following healthy US housing and
industrial output data.
The mood across trading floors remains upbeat following last week’s long-
awaited agreement that will see US tariffs lowered, and observers said that
while details of the pact remain thin, the year looks set to end on a
positive note.
The US data was encouraging as it was “very unclear that the improvement
in trade sentiment — hence a better global outlook — is going to translate
into real positive economic momentum immediately,” said Stephen Innes at
AxiTrader.
“But it’s probably safe to say things shouldn’t get worse after the tariff
rollback. And with the global data apparently bottoming, investors are
playing from a much stronger hand than initially imagined.”
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Singapore all rose 0.2 percent in early
trade, while Wellington jumped 0.8 percent.
However, Tokyo went into the break 0.4 percent lower, while there were
also losses in Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
– ‘Well-earned rest’ –
“The price action suggests that the interim trade-deal induced rally may
be taking a well-earned rest for now, after the impressive climb in stocks of
the last few days,” said OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley.
Johnson’s decision to outlaw an extension to the Brexit transition past
2020 continues to drag on the pound, with the unit now down around three
percent from the recent peak it hit Friday after his landslide election
victory.
Sterling soared to multi-month highs in the wake of the win, fanned by
relief at the end of years of political uncertainty in Westminster that meant
the prime minister could push his Brexit agreement through parliament.
But Johnson’s decision will give him just 11 months to hammer out a full-blown trade pact with the European Union, which most commentators say is not enough.
Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank said the premier was in “a
stronger negotiating position” but warned next year could be “a volatile one
for the pound.
“A hard Brexit cannot be ruled out, but the probability of a positive
Brexit resolution has also increased,” he said.
“Note too that BoJo could still introduce a new bill for an extension in
2020 if he so wishes. After all not all Conservative (MPs) support a hard
Brexit.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,979.97 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 27,898.99
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,027.89
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3094 from $1.3132 at 2130 GMT
Euro/pound: UP at 85.08 pence from 84.87 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1140 from $1.1147
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.47 yen from 109.50 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 31 cents at $60.63 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 21 cents at $65.89 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 28,267.16 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,525.28 (close)