Asian Stocks Lose Ground due to Delta Variant Worries

Highlights:

• USA
  The S&P 500 rose by 0.60% or 26.44 units, and the Nasdaq advanced by 0.78% or 114.58 points, both of the indexes posting records.
  Meanwhile, the Dow Jones climbed by 0.78% or 271.58 units.
• ASIA
  The Nikkei gained 0.33% or 91.92 points.
  The Kospi lost 0.18% or 5.77 points.
  Hang Seng cut 0.10% or 25.29 points despite a rise in shares of technology companies.
• EUROPE
  Stoxx 600 dipped by 0.2% in morning trading.

Wall Street at record highs again

Wall Street settled with gains on Thursday due to optimism regarding employment data. S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered all-time highs.  

The S&P 500 rose by 0.60% or 26.44 units, to 4,429.10. The Nasdaq advanced by 0.78% or 114.58 points, to 14,895.12.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones climbed by 0.78% or 271.58 units, to 35,064.25.

The New York stock market received the data of applications for unemployment benefits in the United States, which fell to 385,000 last week. This is a decrease compared to the previous week and has coincided with the experts’ estimates. So, the market is looking forward to tomorrow’s employment report with optimism. According to Analysts, this report, together with the September one, will be critical in the Federal Reserve’s possible decision to reduce its monetary stimulus.

Imports soared with the recovery of demand in the US

The country’s trade deficit in June increased by 6.7% and reached 75.7 billion dollars. Imports increased by 2.1%, and exports grew by 0.6%, reflecting the reactivation of the global economy.

Art Hogan, a chief market strategist at National Securities Corporation, stated that the economic data is positive. There are signs that more people, afraid of the Delta variant, are going to get vaccinated. 

Traditional sectors, sensitive to the recovery, increased. Wynn Resorts climbed by 7.59%, cruises and travel sites also advanced.

Wall Street continued to react to the quarterly results. Uber shot up by 3%, while Roku plunged by 4%.

The e-commerce site Etsy dropped by 9.74% because prospects were deemed disappointing despite increasing its turnover in the second quarter.

Online broker Robinhood lost more than one-quarter of its value, sinking by 27.59% to 50.97 dollars after soaring the day before.

Its fall on Thursday came after the announcement that its shareholders plan to sell 96 million shares.

10-year bond yields rose slightly to 1.22% from 1.18% the day before.

Among the 30 firms listed on the Dow Jones, Salesforce made the highest profit adding 2.62%. Meanwhile, Amgen accumulated a gain of 2.49%, Walt Disney expanded by 2.39%, Walmart gained 1.86%, and Goldman Sachs added 1,70%.

On the other hand, UnitedHealth divided by 2.46%, and Verizon cut by 0.13%.

The Nikkei climbs, eyeing US jobs data

The Tokyo Stock Exchange limited its advances due to caution regarding the publication of employment data in the US.

The Nikkei gained 0.33% or 91.92 points to 27,820.04 on Friday. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index expanded by 0.36 points or 0.02%, at 1,929.34.

The index moved in positive territory during most of the day, boosted by Japan’s excellent business results and the Hang Seng recovery in the afternoon section. However, many investors chose to stay on the margins and wait for the US non-farm employment data, which curbed earnings.

Oil conglomerate Eneos improved by 1.01%, and its competitor Idemitsu Kosan climbed by 1.26%.

Photographic equipment manufacturer Nikon enjoyed a remarkable 8.44% gain. The optical equipment company Olympus rose by 1.95%.

The textile group Fast Retailing advanced by 0.25%. Meanwhile, the world’s largest car producer, Toyota Motor, reduced its price by 1.16%.

Nintendo dipped by 7.7% after publishing a balance for April-June on Thursday. Its profit decreased after the boom caused by the pandemic and by keeping its results forecast unchanged.

The trading volume amounted to 2,431 trillion yen.

Nikkei climbs, eyeing US jobs data

The Tokyo Stock Exchange limited its advances due to caution regarding the publication of employment data in the US.

The Nikkei gained 0.33% or 91.92 points to 27,820.04 on Friday. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index expanded by 0.36 points or 0.02%, at 1,929.34.

The index moved into positive territory during most of the day, boosted by Japan’s excellent business results and the Hang Seng recovery in the afternoon section. However, many investors chose to stay within the margins and wait for the US non-farm employment data, which curbed earnings.

Oil conglomerate Eneos improved by 1.01%, and its competitor Idemitsu Kosan climbed by 1.26%.

Photographic equipment manufacturer Nikon enjoyed a remarkable 8.44% gain. The optical equipment company Olympus rose by 1.95%.

The textile group Fast Retailing advanced by 0.25%. Meanwhile, the world’s largest car producer, Toyota Motor, reduced its price by 1.16%.

Nintendo dipped by 7.7% after publishing a balance for April-June on Thursday. Its profit decreased after the boom caused by the pandemic and by keeping its results forecast unchanged.

The trading volume amounted to 2,431 trillion yen.

Hang Seng goes down due to the rise of Covid-19 cases

Hang Seng cut 0.10% or 25.29 points today to settle at 26,179. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprises dived by 0.25%.

Even though the trading day has been positive for large technology companies, the stock market was hit by concerns on Covid-19. Chinese government tightened regulations due to rising cases of the Delta variant. However, inflows to the south from mainland Chinese investors offered support. 

All the sub-indices closed in the negative territory. The finance sector lost 0.08%, commerce and industry slipped by 0.01%, services tumbled by 0.44%, and real estate shed 0.60%.

The digital conglomerate Tencent was the one that experienced the greatest revaluation. The company piled up by 3.33% and nearly recovered from a fall that it suffered yesterday.

Other large technology companies such as Meituan enjoyed a gain of 1.23%. Meanwhile, Alibaba added 0.52%, and Xiaomi extended by 0.19%.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical solutions firm Wuxi Bio slumped by 4.85%. Lens maker Sunny Optical yielded 4.73%.

The Chinese state oil companies registered mixed results. CNOOC rose by 3.06%, Petrochina stayed unchanged, and Sinopec shrank by 0.56%.

The business volume of the session was 148,040 million Hong Kong dollars.

European shares dipped on the last day of the week

European markets opened in a subdued mood on Friday morning as investors paused after days of record gains.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index traded flat in early trade, with regional markets following suit. 

Stoxx 600 dipped by 0.2% in morning trading. The trend may change with the publication of the monthly employment report in July in the United States.

In the meantime, a majority of stock market index values are down. However, the London Stock Exchange accumulated a gain of  3.62% after the increase in its half-year turnover.