In Seoul, South Korea, an MLB store is situated in the Myeongdong shopping district, as depicted in an image taken on March 9, 2024.
In Singapore, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong saw a surge of over 6% on Wednesday upon resuming trade from a public holiday, reflecting increased optimism concerning Beijing’s economic stimulus policies. Property developers were the primary contributors to this rise, with China Vanke, Logan Group, and Longfor Group advancing by more than 40%, 32%, and 23%, respectively.
Chinese technology firms also experienced significant gains, with Baidu and JD.com both increasing by over 10%. Additionally, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi saw their stocks climb by more than 5%.
Mainland Chinese markets remained closed on Wednesday and will continue to be closed for the rest of the week due to the Golden Week holiday. Chinese stocks experienced a considerable rally on Monday, marking their best performance in 16 years following Beijing’s announcement of several stimulus measures, including interest-rate reductions, lowered bank reserve requirements, and increased liquidity for investors.
Overall, Asia-Pacific markets exhibited mixed performances on Wednesday morning. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded steadily, South Korea’s Kospi declined by 0.2%, while its small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped by 1.6%, with the Topix down by 0.8%.
On Tuesday, Shigeru Ishiba assumed office as Japan’s new Prime Minister after being elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party the previous week. He succeeded Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who formally resigned earlier that day. Analysts suggest Ishiba’s leadership might provide the Bank of Japan with more room to increase interest rates. Consequently, Japanese stocks experienced a decline on Monday, though they slightly rebounded on Tuesday. Newly appointed Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa stated that Ishiba expects the central bank to carefully assess the economy before implementing further rate hikes. Akazawa emphasized the priority of ending Japan’s deflation, noting that Ishiba’s previous comments on monetary policy normalization came with conditions.
Mitsubishi Motor’s stock rose by 4.6% following a report of a 22.1% increase in year-to-date sales from Mitsubishi Motors North America. Mitsubishi Electric’s shares also saw a 1% rise.
Regarding South Korean data, traders were evaluating consumer inflation figures, with the country’s consumer price index rising by 1.6% in September compared to the previous year. This increase was lower than the 1.9% anticipated by economists. A survey from S&P Global indicated that South Korea’s factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in 15 months in September due to a decline in overseas demand.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by more than 173 points overnight, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.93% and 1.53%, respectively. This downturn was influenced by escalating Middle East tensions as Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel, which retaliated by initiating a ground operation into Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Iran’s missile attacks were unsuccessful and promised retaliation, asserting Iran made a significant mistake that would result in consequences.
Economist Stephen Roach, speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia,” highlighted that the Middle East conflict could drive up oil prices and inflation, potentially causing the U.S. Federal Reserve to reassess its monetary policy approach.
U.S. investors are also anticipating the September jobs report, which is scheduled for release on Friday. The U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs in August than expected, indicating a slowing labor market.
Roach suggested that a regional conflict in the Middle East, concurrent with rising unemployment in the U.S., could lead to significant market volatility.
The article also credits contributions from CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring.
