· Hong Kong shares jump nearly 2% as China’s June exports beat forecasts
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher in Tuesday trade as investors reacted to the release of China’s trade data for June.
· China shares end higher on consumer boost after strong export data
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains regionally as it jumped 1.85%. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite rose 0.22% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.206%.
China’s exports in June jumped 32.2% as compared with a year earlier, customs data showed Tuesday.
The data also showed Chinese imports in June surging 36.7%. That compared against an estimate for imports to have increased 30%, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.74%.
Shares in Australia advanced as the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.23% higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 1.11% higher.
· The Chinese tech giants that Beijing is cracking down on are backers of big U.S. IPOs
· Morgan Stanley says investors should be cautious on Chinese stocks amid tech crackdown
Morgan Stanley is urging investors to be cautious on Chinese stocks, given the country’s recent regulatory crackdown on its internet companies.
The investment bank reiterated its call to downgrade Chinese stocks under the MSCI China index to equal weight, which means they are expected to perform equal to other stocks in other emerging markets. That call was first made in January this year.
The MSCI China stocks include both A-shares listed on the mainland, and offshore shares listed in Hong Kong.
· Topix closes at near one-month high as investors await earnings
Japanese stocks gained on Tuesday, with the broad Topix index hitting a near one-month high, after markets recovered from last week’s sell-off and awaited a slew of corporate earnings for a fresh readout on the country’s economic health.
Nikkei share average closed 0.52% higher at 28,718.24, while the broader Topix gained 0.73% to 1,967.64, its highest close since June 16.
Both indexes have quickly recovered from last week’s tumble, which many investors attributed to concerns over Delta variant as well as big selling from Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) related to their dividend payment.
U.S. earnings season kicked off this week and many Japanese companies are expected to announce their quarterly numbers from this month-end until mid-August, making earnings the main focus of the market.
· Thai stocks jump as inflation fears ease; Manila rues Fitch downgrade
Shares in Thailand were set on Tuesday for the best day in six weeks as the central bank assuaged concerns over an overheating economy, while Philippine stocks slid more than 1% after ratings agency Fitch downgraded its outlook on the archipelagic nation.
Stocks in Manila slumped 1.7% on their worst day since April 30 after Fitch lowered its outlook to "negative" from "stable", stoking fears that other ratings agencies could follow suit.
Most emerging Asian currencies inched higher ahead of U.S. inflation data, while stock markets held firm on the back of better-than-expected economic data from China.
· European markets muted ahead of big bank earnings
European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday morning ahead of earnings reports from several big banks in the U.S.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered fractionally below the flatline in early trade, with health care stocks dropping 0.8% while telecoms gained 0.5%.
European investors will be looking stateside on Tuesday ahead of the second-quarter earnings season for banks, which kicks off Tuesday, starting with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs before the opening bell.
Banks are expected to double this quarter, following the 138% earnings growth the sector saw in the first quarter. The S&P 500 broadly is expected to produce its strongest earnings growth since the fourth quarter of 2009.
· Stock futures mostly flat ahead of bank earnings
U.S. stock futures were mostly flat on Monday night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to almost 35,000 ahead of the second-quarter earnings season for banks, which kick off Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 10 points, or 0.03%. The S&P 500 futures fell 0.06% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.002%.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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