· Asia-Pacific markets mixed as U.S. stocks rally; Australia’s jobless rate hits 22-year high
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday afternoon, following a surge in the U.S. markets overnight as tech stocks rallied.
Jobs data in Australia released on Thursday showed that the unemployment rate surged to a 22-year high of 7.5% in July, according to Reuters. Coronavirus cases have surged again in recent weeks in the country’s Victoria state. Authorities had to impose a night curfew and tighten restrictions again last week in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, according to Reuters.
· Japan stocks surge, dollar sags as investors see 'glass half full'
Japanese stocks soared to a six-month peak and the dollar was under pressure on Thursday as investors picked positives out of recent economic data and bet on China and the United States sticking with their trade deal at a crucial weekend meeting.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.1%, while gains in semiconductor makers drove Japan's Nikkei .N225 1.8% higher to a six-month peak. [.T]
“People are looking at the glass half full, and testing the waters,” said Bank of Singapore currency analyst Moh Siong Sim.
· China shares end flat on caution ahead of Sino-U.S. trade deal meeting
China shares ended little changed on Thursday, as caution ahead of a U.S.-China meeting this weekend to review the implementation of a bilateral trade agreement offset strength in agriculture stocks on food security concerns.
Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will review the Phase 1 trade deal and likely air mutual grievances in an increasingly tense relationship during an Aug. 15 video conference.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.04% at 3,320.73.
The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.26%, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.26%, the consumer staples sector up 0.27%, the real estate index down 0.17% and the healthcare sub-index down 1.98%.
· European markets open lower ahead of U.S. jobless claims data
European stocks opened lower Thursday as investors track the lack of progress in negotiations over a U.S. pandemic relief package and await the latest U.S. jobless claims data.
The Europe Stoxx 600 index was down 0.4% shortly after the open with all sectors, bar Telecoms, in negative territory.
The latest weekly jobless claims data stateside are in focus for investors Thursday as they provide a snapshot of the state of the world’s largest economy.
· Thai investor mood dips for first time in four months, politics weigh
Investor confidence in Thailand’s capital markets over the next three months dropped for the first time in four months, unsettled by recent anti-government protests, a capital market association said on Thursday.
The risk coming from political turbulence is adding to pressure on the government as policy makers struggle to revive an economy expected to shrink by a record amount as the coronavirus pandemic upends tourism and consumption.
The Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations said its July survey showed the investor confidence index fell to 85.26 from 101.19 in the previous month.
“The main reason was politics. It’s the first time in months that political factors took the spotlight and played a role in investment,” the federation’s chairman, Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, told a briefing.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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