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Business

Asian markets fall as Fed signals ‘downshift’ in economy

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Shares fell in Asia on Thursday after further losses on Wall Street following a Federal Reserve report showing U.S. economic activity slowed this summer.

The report pointed to resurgent coronavirus cases and mounting supply chain problems and labor shortages — woes affecting many economies. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney.

Japan extended its emergency measures to combat COVID-19 outbreaks until the end of September, as numbers of new cases have been declining only slowly, straining the healthcare system.

Chinese markets have been chilled by further moves by the government to strengthen controls over online businesses that thrived during the pandemic.

In another development, ratings agencies say Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest real estate developers, looks increasingly likely to default on its debts following news reports it will delay interest payments on bank loans. The company is selling assets to raise cash and faces complaints it is late in paying contractors and in delivering projects to customers.

Ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch cut their ratings on Evergrande debt this week to a level that indicates they believe the company is likely to default on bond payments due to lack of cash. Chinese authorities are trying to reduce high debt levels in the economy and have urged Evergrande to resolve its more than $300 billion in debt, but financial analysts to suggest they might allow a default while trying to reduce its impact on the financial system.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225
NIK,
-0.57%
fell 0.5%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng
HSI,
-1.95%
lost 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite index
SHCOMP,
+0.21%
edged 0.1% lower. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
-1.90%
declined 1.2%, and the Kospi
180721,
-1.41%
in Seoul slid 0.9%. Shares fell in Taiwan
Y9999,
+0.20%
but rose in Singapore
STI,
+0.18%,
Malaysia
FBMKLCI,
-0.83%
and Indonesia
JAKIDX,
-0.24%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.33% after rising sharply on Tuesday to 1.37%.

The Federal Reserve’s latest survey of the nation’s business conditions, dubbed the “Beige Book,” said U.S. economic activity “downshifted” in July and August.

The Fed said the slowdown was largely attributable to a pullback in dining out, travel and tourism in most parts of the country, reflecting concerns about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.13%
fell 5.96 points to 4,514.07, which is 0.5% below the all-time high the index set last Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.20%
fell 0.2%, to 35,031.07, and the Nasdaq composite
COMP,
-0.57%
slid 0.6% to 2,249.73. The tech-heavy index’s decline ended a four-day winning streak.

Investors could be in for a choppy market through September as they monitor the Federal Reserve and Washington, which has to deal with budget reconciliation, infrastructure spending and the debt ceiling.

On the bright side, U.S. employers posted record job openings for the second consecutive month in July, according to the Labor Department. The disconnect between the growing number of job openings and the weak recovery for employment levels suggests the jobs issue could be crimping the broader economic recovery.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil
CLV21,
+0.20%
rose 5 cents to $68.35 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 95 cents on Wednesday, to $69.30 per barrel.

Brent crude
BRNX21,
+0.33%,
the international benchmark for pricing, picked up 9 cents to $72.69 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar
USDJPY,
-0.17%
slipped to 110.16 Japanese yen from 110.25 yen.

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Business

Asian markets decline ahead of Fed comments

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TOKYO — Asian shares were lower Wednesday as world markets cautiously awaited the U.S. central bank’s latest comments on the economic outlook.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225
NIK,
-0.02%
gave up early gains and slid 0.2% while South Korea’s Kospi
180721,
-0.64%
retreated 1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
-0.47%
dipped 0.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HSI,
+0.03%
declined 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP,
-0.03%
fell 0.4%. Benchmark indexes in Singapore
STI,
+0.22%,
Taiwan
Y9999,
-0.60%
and Indonesia
JAKIDX,
-0.50%
slipped as well.

Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s latest economic and interest rate projections, expected later in the day. Economists expect Fed Chair Jerome Powell will try to convince jittery financial markets that the central bank can continue providing support without igniting higher inflation.

Those worries have recently pushed bond yields higher, sapping buying demand for shares.

The Fed meeting “carries the potential to either allay or heighten some of the market’s recent concern with regard to the soaring bond yields,” said Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist at IG in Singapore.

Wall Street capped a choppy day of trading with indexes closing mostly lower. Losses by banks, industrial stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending, including cruise line operators, outweighed gains by Big Tech and communication services stocks.

The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.16%
dropped 0.2% to 3,962.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.39%
lost 0.4% to 32,825.95. The Nasdaq
COMP,
+0.09%
bucked the trend, benefiting from the rally in technology stocks and rising 0.1%, to 13,471.57.

Investors weighed new economic data Tuesday that showed Americans cut back on spending last month, partly due to bad weather in wide parts of the country that kept shoppers away from stores, and partly due to December and January stimulus payments running out.

“We’re still in the midst of getting back to a more normal environment,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. “Given the lumpiness of government stimulus payments, we’re going to see numbers jumping around.”

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude
CLJ21,
+0.63%
fell 9 cents to $64.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 59 cents to $64.80 on Tuesday. Brent crude
BRNK21,
+0.54%,
the international standard, lost 15 cents to $68.24 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar
USDJPY,
+0.14%
rose to 109.12 Japanese yen from 108.99 yen.

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Business

Asian markets retreat as caution sets in

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TOKYO — Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic.

Japan’s Nikkei 225
NIK,
-1.03%
slipped 0.5% in early trading, while South Korea’s Kospi
180721,
-1.90%
dropped 1.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
-0.87%
slipped 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HSI,
-1.35%
lost 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP,
-1.38%
was down 1%. Stocks rose in Indonesia
JAKIDX,
+0.63%
and Malaysia
FBMKLCI,
-0.25%
but fell in Singapore
STI,
-1.29%
and Taiwan
Y9999,
-0.43%.

Also on market players’ minds is the global vaccine rollout, which is becoming more organized in the U.S., but yet to play out in much of Asia, except for China, where the pandemic started.

“As the rally waned for the U.S. market, Asia markets can be seen left to their own devices into the Thursday session, and it appears that investors may be locking in some of the recent gains,” said Jingyi Pan, a senior market strategist for IG in Singapore.

Wall Street ended with modest gains, with the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.10%
inched up 3.86 points, or 0.1%, to 3,830.17, after swinging between a gain of 0.6% and a loss of 0.3%. The tiny gain extended the benchmark index’s winning streak to a third day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.12%
gained 36.12 points, or 0.1%, to 30,723.60. The tech-heavy Nasdaq
COMP,
-0.02%
slipped 2.23 points, or less than 0.1%, to 13,610.54. The index had briefly been above its all-time high set last week.

Energy, communications and financial stocks helped lift the market. Those gains were primarily kept in check by declines in companies that rely on consumer spending and technology stocks.

GameStop and other recently high-flying stocks notched modest gains Wednesday. GameStop
GME,
+2.68%
rose 2.7% and AMC
AMC,
+14.71%
climbed 14.7%. The stocks have been caught up in a speculative frenzy by traders in online forums who seek to inflict damage on Wall Street hedge funds that have bet the stocks would fall. GameStop plunged 60% on Tuesday, and AMC Entertainment lost 41.2%.

“There’s a tug of war that’s been brewing for a week or so now, that markets are ripe for a correction and whether the events of last week are a precipitating event,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group.

Stocks have been mostly rallying this week, an encouraging start to February after a late fade in January as volatility spiked amid worries about the timing and scope of another round of stimulus spending by the Biden administration, unease over the effectiveness of the government’s coronavirus vaccine distribution and turbulent swings in GameStop and other stocks hyped on social media.

That volatility has subsided this week, with Wall Street focusing mainly on corporate earnings reports while it keeps an eye on Washington for signs of progress on a new aid package.

Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on support for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, but investors are betting that the administration will opt for a reconciliation process to get the legislation through Congress.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude
CLH21,
+0.63%
gained 15 cents to %55.84 a barrel. Brent crude
BRNJ21,
+0.51%,
the international standard, added 6 cents to $58.52 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar
USDJPY,
+0.13%
inched down to 105.02 Japanese yen from 105.06 yen.

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