U.S. stock futures were muted in early morning trading on Monday as investors readied for the first full week of trading in October and the fourth quarter.
Hopson Development plans to acquire around 51% of China Evergrande’s property services unit for more than HK$40 billion ($5 billion), China’s Global Times newspaper said on Monday, citing unnamed media reports.
· China Evergrande to raise $5 bln from property unit sale - Global Times
Distressed developer China Evergrande will sell a half-stake in its property management unit to Hopson Development for more than $5 billion, Chinese media said on Monday, after both Evergrande and Hopson requested trading halts ahead of a major transaction.
Once China's top-selling developer, Evergrande is facing what could be one of the country's largest-ever restructurings as a crackdown on debt leaves it unable to refinance $305 billion in liabilities.
· Asian markets mixed; China Evergrande shares suspended
Asian markets were mixed on Monday, with Shanghai closed for the National Day holiday.
Hong Kong's benchmark shed more than 2% after troubled property developer China Evergrande's shares were suspended from trading.
The company did not say why, but a Chinese financial news service, Cailian, said another major developer was planning to buy Evergrande's property management unit.
Evergrande is struggling to make payments on tens of billions of dollars worth of debt as it endures a cash crunch brought on by a tightening of Chinese government restrictions on debt-leveraged financing.
The Hang Seng sank 2.3% to 24,011.72 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.1% to 28,457.15. Shares also fell in Taiwan. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8% to 7,246.10.
Markets were closed for holidays in Shanghai and South Korea.
Among the worries that have weighed on the market: The Federal Reserve is close to letting off the accelerator on its support for markets, economic data has recently been mixed following an upturn in COVID-19 infections, corporate tax rates may be set to rise and political turmoil continues in Washington.
European stocks were muted on Monday as markets begin the first full trading week of October.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1% in early trade, with banks shedding 1% while basic resources edged 0.4% higher.
European markets are kicking off their first full trading week of the month after a tricky September, with concerns around inflation, Federal Reserve tapering and rising interest rates dominating sentiment. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield topped 1.56% last week, its highest point since June.
Indian shares rose on Monday after four sessions of falls, with pharma stocks leading the recovery in broad-based buying, while investors waited for the September-quarter earnings season to start and a central bank rate decision due later in the week.
The NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 1.03% to 17,713.90 by 0505 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.09% to 59,406.33.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters,Ctvnews
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