•· The slowdown in China and turmoil in stock and currency markets
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· European markets opened lower after a revenue guidance cut from Apple added to fears of a slowdown in global economic growth.
Britain’s FTSE 100 was seen down 18 points at 6,706, Germany’s DAX off by 46 points at 10,530, and France’s CAC 19 points lower at 4,662, according to IG index data
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· Major stocks indexes in Asia were mostly lower on Thursday as U.S. futures pointed to another volatile session for Wall Street after Apple lowered guidance for first quarter and warned of weaker sales in China.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.81 percent to finish its trading day at 1,993.70 as shares of Apple suppliers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 2.97percent and 4.79 percent, respectively.
Over in the Greater China region, the Hang Seng index gave up earlier gains to slip 0.22 percent, as of its final hour of trade.
The mainland Chinese
· The Chinese stock markets are heavily influenced by retail investors, who are thought to be driven more by short-term sentiment than institutional investors. Recent economic data from China has pointed to a slowing economy, with the country’s manufacturing sector shrinking in December.
Chinese stocks edged lower on Thursday as expectations of policy support failed to offset persisting worries over economic growth.
The Shanghai Composite index ended nearly flat at 2,464.36, while the blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.2 percent.
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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rallied almost 1 percent, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Markets in the continent got a slight lift after China’s commerce ministry said the U.S. and Chinese would hold vice-ministerial level negotiations over trade in Beijing on Jan. 7-8. The two countries are trying to reach a breakthrough to resolve their differences over a 90-day tariffs truce.
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MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
• Japanese stocks retreated on Friday, buffeted on the first trading session of 2019 as Apple Inc’s earnings warning hit technology stocks and signs of slowdowns in the U.S. and Chinese economies soured broader sentiment.
The Nikkei share average ended the day down 2.26 percent at 19,561.96 after losing as much as 3.86 percent, as investors digested bearish news since the start of the year.
• China stocks bounced back from a more than four-year low on Friday, closing the week higher, as the government said it would cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios and as optimism about trade talks with the United States helped
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 2.4 percent to 3,035.87, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 2.0 percent at 2,514.87.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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