GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 31730.30 -103.81 -0.33% Nasdaq 11370.96 6.73 0.06% S&P 500 3930.08 -5.10 -0.13% FTSE 100 7233.34 -114.32 -1.56% Nikkei Stock 26407.13 658.41 2.56% Hang Seng 19771.08 390.74 2.02% Kospi 2595.38 45.30 1.78% SGX Nifty* 15978.00 161.5 1.02% *May contract USD/JPY 128.87-88 +0.44% Range 129.37 128.28 EUR/USD 1.0390-93 +0.09% Range 1.0393 1.0374 CBOT Wheat May $11.744 per bushel Spot Gold $1,821.56/oz Unch Nymex Crude (NY) $106.84 $1.13 U.S. STOCKS
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a sixth consecutive session Thursday, extending a streak of volatility in a market driven by worries that the Federal Reserve will hamper growth in its effort to bring inflation under control.
The blue-chip index fell 103.81 points, or 0.3%, to 31730.30. The S&P 500 declined 5.10 points, or 0.1%, to 3930.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 6.73 points, or less than 0.1%, to 11370.96. All three indexes are on pace for weekly declines of at least 3.5%.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were higher, led by gains in electronics stocks, as bargain hunting kicks in following recent selloffs despite continuing concerns about higher costs of materials. Olympus Corp. added 5.0% and Omron was 3.6% higher. SoftBank Group was 4.5% higher following Thursday’s 8.0% drop and fourth-quarter results. Meanwhile, Nissan Motor fell 5.4% after fourth-quarter net profit missed an analysts’ consensus estimate. Earnings remained in focus with Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings and Honda Motor scheduled to announce their results later in the day. The Nikkei Stock Average was 1.1% higher at 26025.23.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2% to 2580.36 in early trade, led by gains in gaming, auto and shipbuilding stocks. Bargain hunting was kicking in after the benchmark lost for an eighth consecutive session. Online video-game developers NCsoft and Krafton jumped 11% and 3.4%, respectively, after posting upbeat 1Q earnings. Car maker Hyundai Motor rose 2.8% as auto parts supplier Mando Corp. added 2.9%. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering gained 2.3% after media reports that its parent Hyundai Heavy Industries has been included in an updated MSCI index that global investors are tracking. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 1.5%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.9% to 19746.29 following a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight. The HSI’s upside seemed limited in the near term as the weakness of the Hong Kong dollar could continue to hurt investor confidence, said KGI Securities Chua Tit Hong in a note. Gainers included Alibaba Health Information Technology, which rose 4.8%. Geely Automobile jumped 4.2% and delivery platform Meituan added 3.1%. Hang Seng TECH Index was up 4.2% to 4027.64.
China stocks were mixed in early trade, as the market slightly weakened from opening gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8% to 3080.08, the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.4% to 1928.61 while the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index edged 0.1% lower to 2349.52. Bohai Securities analysts reckoned the market could sustain a broad recovery trend in the mid-term, thanks to repeated supportive policy signals from a wide range of top officials in recent sessions. Pandemic-triggered panic sentiment also looks mostly priced in, Bohai added.
FOREX
Hong Kong’s de facto central bank said it sold another US$365 million to buy Hong Kong dollars during New York hours Thursday, the third time it has acted this week to defend the city’s longstanding dollar peg.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority had now sold about US$1.09 billion this week to stop the local currency trading beyond the weak end of its permitted range of 7.75 to 7.85 Hong Kong dollars per U.S. dollar.
METALS
Gold was little changed in early Asian trading. Bullion was shedding its geopolitical-turmoil-induced gains due to U.S. dollar strength and rising interest rates, DailyFX market analyst Diego Colman said in a note. “Although gold is considered a safe-haven asset, it has not lived up to that reputation of late,” he said. “In fact, in recent weeks, gold has bizarrely tracked losses in the equity space, rather than bucking the trend of risk assets, a sign that real rate dynamics are far more important to the precious metal than investor sentiment.” Gold was flat at $1,821.56 an ounce.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil was higher in early Asian trading on a tight supply outlook, after the International Energy Agency forecast falling Russian crude output in the wake of planned sanctions from the EU, CBA analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. Russia’s lost crude supplies amounted to 900,000 barrels a day in April and were expected to grow by a further 600,000 barrels a day this month, the IEA said. The distillate markets were also tight, with global stockpiles of oil products declining to their lowest level since April 2008, Dhar said. Front-month Brent rose 1.3% to $108.82/bbl; WTI gained 1.2% to $107.43/bbl.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2022 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)
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