By Vivek Kumar
Moving markets today: Asian shares stall as U.S. inflation data looms, RBNZ maintains rates, bitcoin surges to $57,622, oil prices decline; focus on U.S. GDP figures and fed speeches
U.S. stocks closed relatively unchanged as investors awaited key economic data, including indicators related to inflation, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates. In Hong Kong and China, stock markets showed mixed results following reports of a major mainland property developer facing a winding-up petition. Meanwhile, New Zealand announced its decision to keep interest rates steady, citing expectations of slowing economic growth, which could help alleviate inflationary pressures. Investors will pay attention to U.S. GDP figures and statements from Federal Reserve officials, which could impact market sentiments and trading trends. Here are five key takeaways for your day.
New Zealand central bank maintains interest rates
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has kept interest rates steady at 5.5%, confident that this rate is effectively curbing demand to address inflation concerns. They pointed to below-average global economic growth, notably in China, which should help reduce “import price inflation.” Despite inflation exceeding the target range of 1 to 3% at 4.7% in the fourth quarter, the bank cautioned that geopolitical and climate factors, including rising shipping costs, could further push inflation upwards.
Australia’s inflation maintains at two-year lowin January
Australian consumer price inflation remained low for the second consecutive year in January, defying expectations for a slight increase and reinforcing the belief that interest rates would not need to rise further. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the monthly consumer price index (CPI) in January rose by 3.4% annually, unchanged from December and below market forecasts of 3.6%, Reuters reported. Core inflation, measured by the trimmed mean, also decreased to 3.8% annually from 4.0% in December. Inflation excluding volatile items and holiday travel slowed to 4.1% from 4.2%.
Country Garden confronted with winding-up petition from creditor
Country Garden, a major Chinese real estate firm, disclosed receiving a winding-up petition from creditor Ever Credit Limited in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. The petition, filed at the Hong Kong High Court, pertains to the non-payment of a HKD 1.6 billion loan plus accrued interest, the FT reported. The court has set the first hearing for May 17. Country Garden vowed to contest the petition. The company, previously China’s largest private developer by sales, defaulted on offshore debts last October. This follows a similar action against China Evergrande by a Hong Kong court last month.
Market dynamics unveiled while you were asleep
eBay’s shares surged by approximately 4% in after-hours trading following its surpassing of market expectations for quarterly revenue and profit. Just before the trading day concluded, UnitedHealth saw a significant drop of 2.27%, becoming the main drag on the Dow Jones index. This decline followed a report from the Wall Street Journal disclosing an antitrust investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice against the company. Meanwhile, Viking Therapeutics experienced an extraordinary surge of 121.02% after its experimental drug aimed at treating obesity showed promising results. The drug helped participants achieve noteworthy weight loss in a mid-stage study. As a result of Viking’s success, Amgen, a company also developing a weight-loss drug, saw its stock decline by 2.75%, according to Reuters.
Asian markets wander; bitcoin surges to $57,622
Market movements on Tuesday showed a mixed picture across major indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined slightly by 0.25%, closing at 38,972.41 points. In contrast, the S&P 500 eked out a 0.17% gain, reaching 5,078.18 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.37% to 16,035.30 points. The Russell 2000 index stood out with a notable 1.3% increase, marking its fourth consecutive positive session, the longest such streak since late December.
Over in Asia, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped by 0.2%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index edged up by 0.5%. Notably, Country Garden Holdings, once a major player in China’s property market, saw its Hong Kong shares plummet by up to 13.9% after disclosing a winding-up petition from one of its creditors. Meanwhile, Japan’s Topix and the Nikkei 225 both experienced declines of 0.3%, contrasting with South Korea’s Kospi, which saw a 0.5% uptick.
Currency markets saw the dollar index inching up by a mere 0.01%. U.S. crude oil prices fell by 0.41% to $78.55 per barrel, and Brent crude followed suit at $83.31, down 0.41% for the day. The anticipation of a delayed U.S. rate cut cycle dampened the optimism brought by talks of potential extensions to production cuts from OPEC+. On the other hand, spot gold prices rose slightly by 0.1% to $2,030.83 per ounce. In the realm of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin surged to $57,622.23 overnight, while ether hit as high as $3,290, marking its highest level since April 2022.
