· Tesla has made about $1 billion in profit on its bitcoin investment, analyst estimates
· Pandemic caused $220 billion of global dividend cuts in 2020, research says
Global dividends fell sharply in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the amount of investor payouts declining 12.2% to $1.26 trillion, according to new research
· Shares turn cautious as bond yields, commodities surge
Asian shares turned mixed on Monday as expectations for faster economic growth and inflation globally battered bonds and boosted commodities, while rising real yields made equity valuations look more stretched in comparison.
Bonds have been bruised by the prospect of a stronger economic recovery and yet greater borrowing as President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package progresses.
“Yield curves have continued to steepen, as COVID infection rates decline further, reopening plans are discussed and a large U.S. fiscal stimulus package looks likely,” said Christian Keller, Barclays’ head of economics research.
“This in principle signals a better medium-term growth outlook for the U.S. and beyond, as other core yields curves are moving in the same direction,” he added. “Meanwhile, central banks seem set to look through this year’s inflation increase, keeping the curves’ front end anchored.”
· Stocks in Asia-Pacific mostly declined on Monday as China left its benchmark lending rate unchanged over the weekend
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia finished its trading day 0.19% lower at 6,780.90.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.96% lower.
· Japanese shares jump as recovery hopes lift cheap cyclical stocks
Japanese shares jumped on Monday,snapping a three-day losing streak, as optimism on economicrecovery from the pandemic prompted fresh buying in materials,travel-related and other cheap cyclical stocks.
Nikkei share average rose 0.46% to 30,156.03, whilethe broader Topix gained 0.49% to 1,938.35.
Investors scooped up cyclical shares with cheap valuationincluding Yokohama Rubber and Sumitomo Metal,which gained 8.9% and 7.2%, respectively.
Travel-related shares also advanced as investors bet on acontinued recovery in the global economy with COVID-19vaccination programmes gathering pace across the world.
Airliner ANA Holdings notched up 5.8%, while rivalJapan Airlines added 5.7%. Department store operatorsalso bounced back, with J.Front Retailing up 2.4% andTakashimaya trading 1.6% higher.
Chip-related shares continued to do well, with TokyoElectron gaining 6.3%.
Rise in U.S. bond yields also lifted Japanese financials,which are considered to benefit from higher interest income,with banks up 1.8% and insurers adding0.8%.
· China blue-chips slump most in nearly 7 months on valuation, policy tightening concerns
China’s blue-chip index posted its biggest daily drop in nearly seven months on Monday after touching record highs last week, as investors fretted over high stock valuations and the risk of policy tightening.
China left its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged for a 10th straight month on Saturday, but speculation has been rising that authorities may begin to adopt a tighter policy stance.
“Monetary conditions have tightened in practice since the start of the year. We expect the PBOC to formalise the shift with policy rate increases in the next few months,” said analysts at Capital Economics.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index slumped 3.14% to close at 5,597.33 points, its biggest daily percentage drop since July 24, 2020.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.45% to 3,642.44 points.
· European markets fall amid global market caution
European stocks opened lower Monday amid cautious trade in global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.9% in early trade, with tech stocks shedding 1.4% to lead losses while basic resources bucked the downward trend to climb 0.5%
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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