Global stocks settled mixed waiting for US inflation data

Highlights:

• USA
  The Dow Jones set a record advancing by 0.46% or 162.82 points, to 35,264.67. Meanwhile, the selective S&P 500 gained 0.10% or 4.40 points. The Nasdaq fell by 0.49% or 72.09 points and ended at 14,788.09.
• ASIA
  The Nikkei advanced by 0.7% or 182.36 yen to 28,070.51. The KOSPI index slipped by 0.70% or 22.57 points. The Hang Seng Index rose slightly on Wednesday, adding by 0.20% or 54.54 points. 

EUROPE
The Stoxx 600 and the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.01%, each.

The Dow Jones Closed with a Record Rise

The Dow Jones settled with a record increase on Tuesday. The stock market drove the US Senate’s approval of the decade’s most extensive infrastructure investment plan. 

The Dow Jones advanced by 0.46% or 162.82 points, to 35,264.67. Meanwhile, the selective S&P 500 gained 0.10% or 4.40 points and set a new record at 4,436.75.

The Nasdaq fell by 0.49% or 72.09 points and ended at 14,788.09.

The US Upper House said yes to the great infrastructure plan that has been under negotiation for months and is now pending the approval of Congress. 

The initiative, one of the top priorities of President Joe Biden, is valued at $1.2 trillion. It will be the most significant investment in public works in the United States in a decade.

Markets expect the plan to give new force to the country’s economy, undergoing a rapid but uneven recovery after the COVID-19 crisis, but doubts remain.

The energy sector benefited from the news the most

Some stocks that could be particularly benefited by the new public investment, such as steel producers, registered some of the most significant increases in a session.

The energy sector experienced the best performance increasing by 1.72%. It was followed by raw materials and industrial sectors, adding 1.48% and 1.01%, respectively. 

Meanwhile, real estate, technology, and health sectors were the only ones closing in the red.

The new records for the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 followed those reached by these indices last Friday. A better-than-expected July employment report drove their increase.

Today, among the thirty Dow Jones stocks, the biggest winner was Caterpillar, surging 2.48%. Walmart followed it, adding 2.13%, and Dow gained 2.10%. The most significant losses were led by Salesforce, yielding 2.38%. Meanwhile, American Express slipped by 0.81%, and Visa lost 0.80%.

Investors are waiting for the data about the evolution of inflation. 

The Nikkei keeps an upside trend

The Tokyo stock market has risen for four consecutive business days.

The Nikkei advanced by 0.7% or 182.36 yen to 28,070.51.

The closing price of TOPIX was 1954.08, which was 17.80 points (0.9%) higher than the previous day.

The US Senate supported Japan in passing the largest infrastructure bill to help economy-sensitive stocks. Another positive factor for Tokyo investors was the excellent financial results achieved by Japanese companies.

Among the equities with the highest capitalization, the technological Softbank lost 1.75%. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor gained 0.98%.

At the same time, the video game company Nintendo increased by 3.60% and the electronic components manufacturer Lasertec slid by 5.86%.

Rubber, maritime transport, iron and steel sectors posted the most significant rise.

In the first section, 1,498 stocks advanced, and 621 shares fell. Meanwhile, 71 ended unchanged. The trading volume was 2.64 trillion yen.

Kospi fell due to growing concerns about semiconductors

The KOSPI closed lower as foreign buying increased amid growing concerns about the slump in the semiconductor industry.

The KOSPI index slipped by 0.70% or 22.57 points and closed at 3,220.62.

It peaked at 3,250.21 in the early part of the market but widened the decline after the rebound and fell to 3,217.65.

On the same day, foreigners net sold 1.6 trillion won, increasing downward pressure on the stock exchange. Individuals net bought about 1.7 trillion won and started defending the index.

Major stocks Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix became bearish. Samsung Electronics lost 2.12%, and SK Hynix plunged by 6.22%. 

Meanwhile, Samsung Biologics stock price rose by 2.96%, leaping to the top 4 by market capitalization.

However, investors were concerned as the number of new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus infection in Korea exceeded 2,000.

Naver fell by 0.34%, and Kakao slipped by 1.71%. The banking industry rose the most, adding 3.69%, while the electricity and electronics industry fell the most, sliding by 2.33%.

Lee Jin-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, stated that the sluggishness of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix acted as the main factor for the decline in the Kospi.

Hang Seng continued its rebound

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose slightly on Wednesday, adding 0.20% or 54.54 points to 26660.16. State-owned Hong Kong China enterprises stocks rose by 0.52% or 48.95 points to 9548.13 points.

Among the sub-indices, Services declined by 0.03%; Commerce and Industry dropped by 0.63%. Meanwhile, Finance added 0.96%, and Real Estate surged by 2.5%.

Several stocks posted notable advances later. China Overseas hiked by 8.89%. China Resources Land added 7.3%, and Longfor Group gained 6.88%.

Almost all the securities in the financial zone also progressed. The large state bank ICBC lead increases, growing by 2.55%.

After yesterday’s gains, digital leaders fell today. The technology index tumbled by 0.14%. Major blue-chip technology stocks declined; Tencent lost 0.45%; Meituan shed 0.75%, and Alibaba sipped by 0.88%. Xiaomi fell by 2.2%; WuXi Biologics lost 3.7%. 

The day was better for Chinese state companies. Oil firm Petrochina enjoyed an increase of 3.41%, and the telephone operator China Mobile added 1.1%.

Lenovo Group rose 7.6% after announcing the financial report of the second quarter (April to June).

Evergrande stocks continued to rise. China Evergrande climbed by 8%; Evergrande Auto rose by 4.7%. On Tuesday evening, Evergrande announced it is contacting potential investors to discuss the sale of the group’s assets, including part of its equity interests in Evergrande Motors and Evergrande Properties.

The business volume of the session was 153,510 million Hong Kong dollars.