· Asia shares slip, Nikkei stalls near 30-year high
Asian shares made a poor start on Monday to a week packed with major U.S. and Chinese economic data and the launch of Apple’s latest iPhones, while the Nikkei faltered tantalisingly close to heights last visited in 1990.
Hopes for fresh stimulus from a new prime minister in Japan saw the Nikkei surge 4.3% last week, and Topix made those 30-year highs on Friday, but vertigo appeared to set on Monday as the Nikkei slipped.
Reports that U.S. Democrats were considering proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy, while not exactly new, could make for a cautious mood.
Adding to concerns about China’s regulatory crackdown was an FT report that Beijing is aiming to break up Alipay, the hugely popular payments app owned by Jack Ma’s Ant Group.
China releases a swath of data on retail sales, industrial output and urban investment on Wednesday that analysts fear will show a further slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1.2%, to more than reverse a rally last Friday. Chinese blue chips were off 0.5% and most markets in the region were modestly in the red.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba dropped 4.47% following a Financial Times report that Beijing wants to break up Ant Group’s Alipay and force the creation of a separate loans app.
Other Chinese tech stocks also declined, with Tencent falling 3.67% while Meituan slipped 6.32%. The Hang Seng Tech index dropped 2.83%.
Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng index dropped 1.98%. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite up fractionally while the Shenzhen component declined 0.507%.
Other Asia-Pacific markets
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.26% lower while the Topix index shed 0.25%.
Shares of automakers Toyota and Honda fell 2.43% and 1.72% respectively. The two firms criticized a U.S. House electric vehicle tax plan that would benefit Detroit’s Big Three automakers, according to a Reuters report.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.26%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged 0.19% higher.
· Chinese tech, EV stocks fall on regulatory fears; property developer Soho China drops 33% on failed deal
Chinese electric vehicle stocks also fell after the country’s industry minister said consolidation in the sector is needed as there are “too many” EV makers in China.
Chinese property developer Soho China plunged 33.43% after a takeover deal by Blackstone Group fell through. Soho China said in a filing on Friday that Blackstone has decided not to go through with its $3 billion bid to buy the developer.
· European markets start the new trading week on a positive note
European stocks advanced on Monday, with investors continuing to weigh up the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision and inflation data.
· Stock futures higher after Dow, S&P post five straight days of losses
U.S. stock index futures were in positive territory during early morning trading on Monday as the S&P 500 comes off its longest daily losing streak since February.
Futures contracts tied to Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 153 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded in positive territory.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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