Asian Stocks Climb after Weak US Employment Data

Highlights:

• • USA
    The Dow Jones dropped by 0.21% or 74.73 points to 35,369.09. The S&P 500 shed 0.034% or 1.52 points to 4,535.43. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq settled in the green, adding 0.21% or 32.34 to 15,363.52. 
  • ASIA
    The Nikkei climbed by 1.83% or 531.78 points, to stand at 29,659.89.
    The Kospi added 0.07% or 2.27 points to stand at 3,203.33.
    The Hang Seng increased by 1.01% or 261.64 to 26,163.63.
    EUROPE
    The EuroStoxx 50 index traded with a 0.76% advance.
    The Stoxx 600 index added 0.5% to 474.5 and was just two points below its all-time high.

Wall Street ended mixed on Friday after a slump in Employment data

Wall Street finished its first week of September on the mixed ground after August employment data. It came much weaker than expected.

Last week, the Fed chairman Jerome Powell convinced that an eventual rise in interest rates was still far away and inflation is still causing concern. However, it was moderated by several factors. In this uncertain scenario, last Thursday was the only day of the week that had three main indexes settled in positive territories. 

In the last five sessions, the Dow Jones lost 0.24%, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.57%, and the Nasdaq also gained 1.5%.

According to official data by the US Department of Labor, unemployment in the United States fell two-tenths in August, to 5.2%. Even though it was the best figure since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country’s labor market, it was still well below expectations.

Last month, the US economy created 235,000 jobs, compared to 1.05 million jobs created in July.

This marked the lowest number of job creation in seven months and confirmed fears of the impact of the new restrictions. It should be noted that the expected number was around 750,000 jobs.

Tech stocks boost Nasdaq

On Friday, the Dow Jones dropped by 0.21% or 74.73 points to 35,369.09. The S&P 500 shed 0.034% or 1.52 points to 4,535.43. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq settled in the green, adding 0.21% or 32.34 to 15,363.52. 

The Nasdaq index registered the fifth increase in the last six sessions. Usually, heavyweight tech stocks perform better in a low-interest-rate environment. Companies like Apple, Google (Alphabet), and Facebook advanced by between 0.3% and 0.4%. 

According to Mike Mullaney, director of global market research at Boston Partners, the Tech sector has become bulletproof. This is what investors choose when they think of coronavirus or a slowdown in growth is going to be an issue. 

Transport companies surged on the Nikkei

The Nikkei rose by 1.83% today due to the expectations of change in leadership in the ruling party that brings new economic stimuli.

The Nikkei climbed by 1.83% or 531.78 points, to stand at 29,659.89 to its highest level since April 19. Meanwhile, the Topix closed at its best level in 31 years, growing by 1.28% or 25.77 points, to 2,041.22 units.

Last Friday, the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would not run for re-election. In Japan, the president of the most voted political force holds the position of prime minister. So, a change of leadership indicates an automatic change in the head of government. 

The maritime transport sector got the highest profits of the day. Brokerage businesses and machinery followed it.

Semiconductor component maker Lasertec accounted for the largest trading volume and gained 3.22%. Transactions by the transport company Nippon Yusen Kaisha followed it. The company’s shares soared by 9.95% and posted the largest advance among the Nikkei firms. As for the other significant gains, they also were transport companies. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha expanded by 9.6% and Mitsui OSK enjoyed a rise of 6.27%.

The Softbank group added 1.93% and the vehicle manufacturer Toyota progressed by 2.11%.

On the other hand, Sony gained 0.51%, and the video game developer and distributor Nintendo climbed by 1.5%.

In the first section, 1,554 companies advanced and 532 shares fell. Meanwhile, 102 companies closed without changes.

The Kospi ended flat after US employment data

The Kospi closed almost flat today after August employment data in the US showed that there’s still a long road till the economic recovery. In fact, the Kospi added 0.07% or 2.27 points to stand at 3,203.33. Meanwhile, the Kosdaq technology index slipped by 0.08% or 0.89 points to 1,052.96. 

The Kospi traded on a narrow margin between positive and negative territory today. The volume of business was moderate. Foreign and institutional investors were sellers today. However, they barely made a combined net of about 86 million dollars.

Stocks finished the day with mixed closings. Samsung electronics was the most valuable equity on the Nikkei, advancing by 0.91%. Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, SK Hynix, slipped by 0.93%. 

In the biopharmaceutical sector, Samsung Biologics grew by 0.32%. In contrast, its competitor Celltrion lowered by 1.59%.

Naver, the main internet search engine operator, climbed by 0.33%. On the other hand, Kakao, the company behind the most popular South Korean messaging application, lost 0.64%.

Hyundai Motor, the largest car manufacturer in South Korea, closed by an increase of 2.3%.

Hang Seng hiked after the Government reaffirmed its support for the private sector

Hong Kong stocks opened in the lower territory on Monday. However, they rebounded later, supported by the government’s announcement. The Chinese government declared its continued support for the private sector, supporting the positive sentiment in the stock market. 

The Hang Seng increased by 1.01% or 261.64 to 26,163.63.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose by 0.85% or 79.44 points to 9,371.15 points. Meanwhile, Shanghai Composite Index was up by 40.12 points to 3621.86 points. 

Tencent soared by 3.84% and contributed the most to the Hang Seng Index advance. Other technology stocks also strengthened. YOFC gained 16.06%, Legend Holdings added 13.38%, BYD Electronicssurged by 6.09%, and VST Jiajie increased by 4.83%.

Meanwhile, BYD, a Chinese manufacturing company, enjoyed a surge of 7.78%. The company sold 68,531 vehicles in August, beating the previous year’s number of 36,785.

The world’s second-largest aluminum company Rusal closed with a swell of 14.5%. Its share price reached $6.97, the highest in nearly a decade.

R&F Properties settled in the negative territory and lost 3.88%. Also, Shimao Group’s share price slipped by 2.16%.

European stocks are up around 0.5% after opening

European stock markets posted moderate gains shortly after the opening. They added around 0.5%, encouraged by a rise in Asian markets.

In the morning trading, the EuroStoxx 50 index traded with a 0.76% advance. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index added 0.5% to 474.5 and was just two points below its all-time high.

The Euro slipped slightly by 0.1%, to 1,187 dollars. At the same time, the interest on long-term German debt declined by 0.368%.