Stock Market Today: Asian markets turned mixed

Asian share markets turned mixed on Monday. It was a result of data on Chinese retail sales, which missed expectations. However, industrial output stayed stable. 

Besides, new coronavirus infections in several countries lowered optimism about economic recovery.

Among the stock markets which performed positively were Hong Kong, Sydney, Shanghai, and wellington. 

On the other hand, Taiwan was forced to tighten social distancing measures for the capital of the country and the surrounding areas. Also, Japan extended a state of emergency. 

China’s industrial production increased by 9.8 % year-on-year in April, matching expectations. Retail sales advanced by 17.7%, falling short of estimates of 24.9%. Fixed asset investment gained an annual 19.9%, beating forecasts.

China’s Shanghai Composite index hiked by 27.24 points, or 0.78%, to 3,517.62. At the same time, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index grew by 0.59% at 28,194.09.

Australian markets surged, with energy companies and gold miners leading the increase. 

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 hiked by 9.40 points, or 0.13%, to 7,023.60 despite fears of increasing Aussie-China tussles. The broader All Ordinaries index settled with a gain of 16.40 points, or 0.23%, at 7,255.80.

New Zealand shares saw modest gains as investors were encouraged by visitor arrivals and service sector activity data. The benchmark NZX-50 index advanced by 42.61 points, or 0.34%, to 12,410.47.

India recovered from Covid-19

Indian markets started the day with an almost 0,6% increase. It resulted from the drop in coronavirus cases. Also, microeconomic data was better than expected, which improved sentiment. 

At the beginning of the trading day, Sensex increased by 0.6% to 49,025.92. At the same time, Nifty added 0.55% to 14,75c8 points.

V.K. Vijayakumar, a strategist at Geojit Financial Services, stated that India’s coronavirus data improved steadily, decreasing infections. This indicates that the present increase in lockdowns will be temporary, and the market is likely to ignore it. 

The Tokyo Stock Exchange loses 0.92%

The Tokyo Stock Exchange settled with a 0.92% decrease in its main indicator, the Nikkei. It happened due to the concern of local investors after the extension of the health emergency due to coronavirus to more regions from Japan.

The Nikkei dropped by 259.64 points to 27,824.83 integers. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index, which groups the stocks with the largest capitalization, lost 4.56 points or 0.24% to 1,878.86 integers.

The country extended covid-19 regulatory policy

The Tokyo market reacted like this after extending a health emergency to three more prefectures of the state. It was already in force in six other Japanese regions, including Tokyo, due to the fourth wave of infections, a measure that came into effect on the eve.

On Sunday, the Tokyo metropolitan government reported 542 new coronavirus cases. The results were down 230 from Saturday. 

The average number of infections for Tokyo over the past seven days stands at 806. Nationwide, the number of reported Covid-19 cases was 5,215.

Investors fear that the increased restrictions on businesses will impact domestic consumption. It has been suffering since the coronavirus pandemic began to hit Japan more than a year ago. Moreover, the national vaccination campaign advances more slowly than in other developed countries.

Tokyo Electron closed the day with a decline of 3.55% 

Among the highest-cap stocks in Tokyo, tech giant Softbank lost 1.23%. At the same time, the country’s largest auto producer, Toyota Motor, gained 1.91%.

Tokyo Electron, the manufacturer of chip components, yielded 3.55%. Meanwhile, Fast Retailing, the multinational textile company, owner of the chain of apparel stores Uniqlo, dropped by 0.97%. 

The video game company Nintendo climbed by 2.36%.

In the first section, 1,211 stocks advanced, 908 fell back, and 75 ended the day unchanged.

The trading volume amounted to 2.49 trillion yen.

European stocks have opened the day positively

The European stock markets have opened this Monday positively, following the Wall Street session last Friday. Besides, stocks are pending the New York manufacturing survey of May that will be published today.

Milan was the significant player in the European Market at the beginning of the trading day with an increase of 0.42%. Meanwhile, Madrid gained 0.37%, London climbed by 0.24%, and Paris added 0.23%.

The Euro Stoxx 50, grouping together the most significant European companies, gained 0.15%.

In the debt market, yields are down in both Europe and the US.

The interest on the German bond considered the safest becomes more negative and stands at 0.129%.

The yield on the US bond, which worries investors the most, is also down and stands at 0.1270%.

Wall Street jumped on Friday. Still, down for the week

Last Friday, Wall Street closed with gains, and its main indicator, the Dow Jones Industrials, gained 1.06%. It was the second day of increases after the drops at the beginning of the week due to fear of the rise in inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrials underwent its worst day since January on Wednesday. It lost 1.99%, and throughout the week, it accumulated a fall of 0.88%. The S&P 500 decreased by 0.72%, and the Nasdaq index lost 0.42%.

Wall Street was alarmed by the rise in inflation in the US, which was stronger than expected. Fears that the Federal Reserve could withdraw stimulus measures prematurely increased stock sales. 

Experts believe that the rise of eight-tenths in consumer prices last month is one more sign that the US economy is reopening. It is generating strong demand that supply is not able to absorb, especially services and goods. Now experts look at the central bank.

Still, those fears seemed to disappear at the end of last week. Several Federal Reserve officials assured that the central bank had no intentions to end the incentives.