Economy
Japanese Stocks Fall Amid Rise in Chinese, Hong Kong Shares
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors continued to wait for signs of progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. Nevertheless, investor sentiment was bolstered by news that the Trump administration issued a new 90-day extension that will allow U.S. companies to continue doing business with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies.
Chinese shares closed higher for the second straight day amid hopes of government stimulus to boost slowing economic growth. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 24.79 points or 0.9 percent to finish at 2,933.99.
Hong Kong shares extended Monday’s rally, erasing some of last week’s hefty losses. The Hang Seng Index jumped 412.71 points or 1.6 percent to 27,093.80.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks declined as investors turned cautious amid uncertainty over a U.S.-China trade deal. CNBC’s Beijing Bureau Chief Eunice Yoon reported that Chinese officials have grown pessimistic about the chances for a trade deal.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 124.11 points or 0.5 percent to 23,292.65, while the broader Topix dipped 3.99 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 1,696.73.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 1.3 percent and Fast Retailing declined 1.4 percent. The major exporters mostly fell on a stronger yen. Sony declined 1.3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric lost 0.5 percent and Canon dipped 0.3 percent. Panasonic advanced 1.1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron lost 1.3 percent and Advantest slipped 1.6 percent. Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor fell 1.1 percent and Honda Motor declined 0.7 percent.
Among the major gainers, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma spiked 7.4 percent and Kyowa Kirin surged up 4.7 percent.
On the flip side, Z Holdings, formerly known as Yahoo Japan, fell 8.1 percent, while Taiyo Yuden lost 4.9 percent and CyberAgent declined 4.4 percent.
The Australian markets recovered after a weak start to close higher after minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s November monetary policy meeting showed that the central bank had seen a case for cutting the cash rate again earlier this month but decided to keep the rate on hold.
At the November meeting, the RBA left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.75 percent, as widely expected, after cutting it by a quarter point in October.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 47.40 points or 0.7 percent to close at 6,814.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index advanced 42.40 points or 0.6 percent to 6,914.10.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals gained 2.7 percent, Rio Tinto added 0.9 percent and BHP rose 0.3 percent.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank closed higher in a range of 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank edged down 0.2 percent.
Woodside Petroleum announced plans to triple its gas and oil reserve base to 3.7 million barrels over the next seven years and narrowed its 2019 output guidance. The oil company’s shares rose 0.5 percent.
A2 Milk said it expects its fiscal 2020 earnings margins to be stronger than its previous outlook on strong first-half sales and improved marketing investment in the U.S. and China. The dairy producer’s shares soared 11.2 percent.
Qantas Airways forecast capital spending of about A$2 billion in fiscal 2020 and said it expects capacity growth to be little changed in the second half of the year. The airline’s shares added 2.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Kogan.com shares fell 6.6 percent after the internet retailer’s chief executive Ruslan Kogan said at the company’s annual general meeting that October gross sales increased 18 percent, while gross profit rose 22 percent.
New Zealand shares also closed higher, with the benchmark NZX 50 Index rising 19.08 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 10,892.24. Dairy company A2 Milk gained 10.3 percent, while wholesale broadband provider Chorus rose 6.9 percent.
Seoul stocks fell for the second straight day as investors remained cautious amid mixed signals regarding a potential U.S.-China trade deal. The benchmark Kospi lost 7.45 points or 0.3 percent to settle at 2,153.24.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics closed flat, while chipmaker SK hynix declined 0.2 percent. Among the major losers, pharmaceutical firm Celltrion dipped 1.6 percent and Samsung BioLogics dropped 0.8 percent.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.38 per cent loss was suffered by Nigerian stocks on Tuesday on the back of continued selling pressure from investors embarking on profit-taking.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the contraction was influenced by the 1.78 per cent decline recorded by the insurance sector, the 0.24 per cent slip printed by the consumer goods index, and the 0.09 per cent drop posted by the energy space, offsetting the 0.75 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector and the 0.21 per cent growth recorded by the industrial goods segment.
Investor sentiment was weak during the trading day, as the bourse ended with 13 price gainers and 40 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
LivingTrust Mortgage depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.42, Multiverse also shed 10.00 per cent to N22.95, McNichols dropped 9.92 per cent to N5.45, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, and Eterna lost 8.57 per cent to trade at N33.00.
On the flip side, AVA Capital improved by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.71 per cent to N8.65, Neimeth increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO gained 3.47 per cent to settle at N4.18, and Oando grew by 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
A total of 1.6 billion equities valued at N28.7 billion exchanged hands in 54,160 deals yesterday versus the 923.0 million equities worth N37.9 billion traded in 72,544 deals on Monday, indicating a 73.35 per cent surge in the trading volume, a 24.27 per cent decline in the trading value, and a 25.34 per cent slip in the number of deals.
The busiest stock was Japaul, which transacted 904.4 million units for N2.7 billion. Sterling Holdings sold 54.0 million units valued at N431.9 million, FCMB exchanged 49.5 million units worth N545.9 million, Chams traded 44.9 million units for N199.2 million, and Neimeth sold 42.4 million units worth N327.8 million.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 927.70 points to 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N599 billion to N158.016 trillion from N158.615 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira put up a better performance against the United States Dollar in the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday, August 4.
In the parallel market, it improved its value by N5 to settle at N1,400/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it appreciated by N1 to close at N1,373/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,374/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) segment, the Nigerian currency gained N2.28 or 0.17 per cent against the greenback to quote at N1,362.55/$1 compared with the N1,364.83/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Also in the official market, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N6.48 to finish at N1,831.41/£1 versus N1,837.89/£1, and chalked up N5.22 on the Euro to sell at N1,568.71/€1 versus N1,573.93/€1.
Interbank FX transactions increased 14 per cent day-on-day as market makers’ activities raised total Dollar volume exchanged to $156.23 million, more than 132 per cent above $137.05 million in turnover at the previous close.
The interbank FX turnover rose despite a marginal rise in deals at the NFEM window as data from the central bank put Tuesday’s quote at 139 from 138.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens were mixed as global stock indexes hit fresh records on renewed enthusiasm for artificial-intelligence-related shares.
With cheaper oil, easing rate expectations and a strong risk-on rally in equities supporting digital assets, analysts say crypto appears to be driven by internal market dynamics rather than macroeconomic factors, even as traders watch for a potential Strait of Hormuz deal.
It was reported overnight that Iran and Oman were close to an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with an announcement targeted for Wednesday.
Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 1.8 per cent to $600.54, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.9 per cent to $64,199.86, Solana (SOL) jumped by 0.8 per cent to $73.95, and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.7 per cent to $1,867.21.
But Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to $0.1908, TRON (TRX) dipped by 0.6 per cent to $0.3268, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 0.5 per cent to $0.0698, and Ripple (XRP) crashed by 0.4 per cent to $1.06, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude dropped below $80 per barrel, precisely losing $4.41 or 5.3 per cent to settle at $79.36 a barrel on Tuesday, after comments by officials from the United States and Qatar raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war, which could improve oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures depreciated by $4.57 or 5.7 per cent to trade at $75.77 a barrel.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday there was progress in talks with Iran and Oman about moving more ships through the strait, but a final agreement was yet to be reached.
Also, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said earlier on Tuesday that a deal with Iran to reopen the strait could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution to the war were continuing.
Qatar said it has discussed with US President Donald Trump ways to reduce escalation and converge viewpoints between the US and Iran.
Meanwhile, the latest round of US-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday and will continue through Thursday.
Amid this, Iran still wants control over inbound shipping and visibility over outbound traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with the ability to intervene if necessary, as part of a plan being discussed with Oman to reopen the strategic waterway.
Market analysts noted that the prospect of a diplomatic solution to the conflict has helped remove some of the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices. If negotiations between the US and Iran make meaningful progress, the market could continue pricing in a lower probability of supply disruptions.
Disruptions to shipping through the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas flowed before the war, have forced Middle Eastern nations to cut oil output sharply. The world has lost more than 2.6 billion barrels of oil since the Iran war began in February.
Shipping traffic at the key Gulf waterways of Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz remained unchanged at the start of the week.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US rose by 2.69 million barrels in the week ending July 30. Commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have lost just over 58 million barrels over the last sixteen weeks, with US crude inventories down just 7.2 million for the year, according to API data.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
