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Stocks lose steam as investors focus on US jobs, Fed

Asian shares slipped on Wednesday as a stellar rebound in world stocks paused for breath, while bond yields and the dollar fell ahead of U.S. financial data and speeches from policymakers that are expected to make the case for rates of interest cuts.

The S&P 500 snapped 8 sessions of gains with a. 0.2% over night drop. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific. shares outside Japan fell 0.6%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1.4% with JD.com. dropping 11% after Bloomberg News reported top. investor Walmart plans on selling its large stake.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1% at the open as a healing. from its collapse in early August encounters resistance around. the 38,000 level, and more gains in the yen dented sentiment.

The sell-off itself has actually mainly fixed, and the. economic downturn scare has actually paved the way to soft landing hopes once again, said. Bank of Singapore expert Moh Siong Sim.

Now we are back to square one and ... the market needs. validation before it can be more relaxed, and that recognition. must come from information.

Later Wednesday preliminary revisions to U.S. labour data. are because of be released and a large down revision is. anticipated, which would support cutting interest rates. On. Thursday, U.S. and worldwide acquiring supervisors' index surveys are. due.

The falling dollar has launched gold to record highs and. returned the yen to 145.48 per greenback, a gain of. 1.6% for the week up until now and some 11% greater than last month's. 38-year trough.

The euro is up almost 3% for August to date and,. at $1.1130 in early morning trade, is at its highest considering that early. December and testing major chart levels.

Rates of interest futures have actually priced a 25 basis point U.S. rate. cut next month, with a 1/3 chance of a 50 bp cut. Nearly 100 bps. in cuts are priced this year, and another 100 bps next year.

It is most likely that the existing softer tone of the greenback. stems mostly from expectations that simpler Fed policy is. progressively imminent, Rabobank strategist Jane Foley stated in a. note.

This raises the question as to whether Fed rate cut hopes. are still exaggerated and the risk of near-term (euro/dollar) dips. back listed below $1.10.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to make a speech. at the Jackson Hole seminar in Wyoming on Friday. The. Australian and New Zealand dollars held significant current gains. with the Aussie at $0.6747 and kiwi at. $ 0.6157.

The mood kept bond markets supported and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields nudged lower to 3.81%, while. two-year yields hovered at 3.9962%.

Commodity prices stabilised with Brent crude futures. at $77.17 a barrel and Dalian iron ore discovering a flooring after a. Bloomberg report that China plans to allow local governments to. buy unsold homes in the most recent property-market assistance measure.

China is the world's most significant steel customer and markets are. sensitive to any signs that building might return on. track. Huge miners' shares were stable. in Australia.

Gold costs hovered at $2,516 an ounce, simply below. record levels touched on Tuesday.

In emerging markets, reserve banks in Thailand and Indonesia. fulfill to set rates on Wednesday, though neither is anticipated to. start cutting rates before the Federal Reserve.

(source: Reuters)