Nikkei hikes while Kospi and Hang Seng drop

The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended today with a 0.17% gain. Tokyo stocks kept a three-day gaining streak. The Nikkei, its main indicator, was encouraged by confidence in the economic rebound in Japan and other powers as the process of vaccination against covid.

The Nikkei closed with an increase of 46.78 points to 28,364.61 integers. At the same time, the broader Topix index, which groups together the securities with the highest capitalization, advanced by 8.35 points or 0,44%, up to 1913.04 integers.

Optimism prevailed during the first day of the week on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It happened despite the losses Wall Street ended with on Friday for fear of rising prices in the United States and the possibility that the Federal Reserve starts the withdrawal of stimuli earlier than expected.

Tokyo is confident about economic recovery

Tokyo investors are confident about the recovery of the private sector in the United States and Europe. All businesses gradually reopen as the vaccination process advances, analysts said.

In addition, they opened two mass vaccination centers operated by the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo and Osaka, the two main cities of the country. The country aims to accelerate a process of immunization of its population that is advancing more slowly than in other developed countries.

Softbank sank by 2.11%

Among the securities with the highest capitalization in Tokyo, the 2.11% decline of Softbank and the 1.23% increase of Toyota Motor, the country’s largest vehicle manufacturer, stand out.

The video game company Nintendo increased by 0.44%. Also, the textile multinational Fast Retailing, owner of the clothing store chain Uniqlo, extended by 0.28%.

In the first section, 1,394 stocks advanced compared to 715 that dropped and 85 that ended unchanged.

The trading volume amounted to 2.15 trillion yen.

The fall in technology drags the Hang Seng

The Hang Seng, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange benchmark index, closed with losses of 0.16% in a session marked by the fall of technology. It yielded 46.18 points to settle at 28,412.26. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprises, the index that measures the behavior of mainland Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong stock market, fell by 0.57%.

Among the sub-indices, advances in Services (0.69%), Real Estate (0.11%), and Finance (0.09%) stood out. At the same time, the Commerce and Industry sector, the one that houses technological stocks, sank by 0.48%.

Among the digital giants, the most significant decline was for Meituan, which lost 1.53%. It was followed by Alibaba plummeting by 1.44%. Also, Tencent yielded 0.51%.

Other technology companies, such as Xiaomi, lost 2.91%. AAC Technologies decreased by 0.22%, also finishing in negative territory.

In the real estate field, the best performance was that of China Resources Land, which rose 0.69%, while in the financial area, the state-owned Bank of Communications advanced 1.78%.

HKEX lost 0.71% after appointing its new CEO and announcing that it will expand the number in the Hang Seng to 58 by adding the automotive company BYD, the manufacturer of solar panels. 

The day was positive for Chinese state companies, especially the ones that are producing crude oil. Cnooc increased by 0.47%.

Among telephone operators, China Mobile advanced by 0.3%, and China Unicom lost 0.47%.

The business volume of the session was 120,880 million Hong Kong dollars (15,567 million US dollars). 

Seoul Stock Exchange loses 0.38% on inflation fears

The Seoul Stock Exchange settled today with a fall of the Kospi, its primary indicator. It dropped by 0.38%, given the renewed fears generated by post-pandemic inflation.

The South Korean selective Kospi lost 12.12 points to 3,144.3 units. At the same time, the Kosdaq technology stock index slipped by 1.79%, or 17.26 points, to close at 948.37 units.

Foreign and institutional traders were once again net sellers today.

The highest-cap stock on the Kospi, Samsung Electronics, fell by 0.5%. SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest chipmaker, slumped by 2.45%.

Naver, the operator of the biggest South Korean internet portal, lost 1.25%. Besides, Kakao, the country’s primary instant messaging application operator, reduced its value by 0.43%.

Wall Street closed a volatile week

Wall Street said goodbye to Friday with hardly any changes. A volatile week was marked by fears of rising prices in the United States and the possibility that the Federal Reserve initiates the withdrawal of stimuli prematurely.

In the last five sessions, the Dow Jones Industrials fell 0.5%, and the selective S&P 500 yielded 0.4%. Both of the markets lengthened the losses of the previous week. At the same time, the Nasdaq Composite Index rebounded a slight 0,3%, breaking a losing streak that lasted a month.

Most European stock markets ended up with gains despite investors’ nervousness. Milan gained 0.84%; Madrid increased by 0.64%, Frankfurt added 0.14%; and Paris extended by 0.02%. Meanwhile, London has lost 0.36%.

The start of the last week was negative, still dominated by inflation data for April that have generated fear of rising prices in the US. Tuesday was the worst session since February due to sales of massive stocks amid significant volatility.

The waters calmed down on Wednesday when the market read the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve. It showed that most of its officials remain convinced that the rebound in prices will be temporary.

Arguments continue to be made about inflation

On the other hand, the economic data was positive in the labor market, which recorded unemployment claims at 444,000, the lowest since the pandemic. Besides, productive activity and services expanded to record figures in May.

Oanda analyst Ed Moya stated that the history of American exceptionalism would continue to fuel the debate about the withdrawal of stimulus. Arguments continue to be made about inflation throughout the corporate United States. 

In the debt market, the yield of the 10-year Treasury bond reached a peak above 1.68%, given the possibility that the US central bank initiates the withdrawal of stimuli if the solid economic recovery continues. However, it ended up moderating to 1.62%.

The nearly completed round of quarterly results continued with encouraging numbers from some of the major US retailers on the corporate front. Walmart and Macy’s saw sales increases in line with the DIY and home improvement chain of the Home Depot home.