· European stocks closed higher on Monday as manufacturing data in both China and Europe showed slight improvement, though not enough to dampen global fears of slowing economic growth.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.3% higher at the closing bell, financial services stocks jumping 0.9% to lead gains while technology stocks slipped 0.6%. The U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day.
· Australian shares slipped on Tuesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision, due around 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.11% in early trade, as most sectors declined. But, the heavily weighted financial subindex rose more than 0.3% as shares of the country’s so-called Big Four banks advanced: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group gained 0.34%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.33%, Westpac was up 0.78% and National Australia Bank rose 0.49%.
Analysts expect the central bank to be on hold and markets have only priced in a 12% chance of a rate cut, according to Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at the National Australia Bank.
· “The RBA indicated in August that it was in assessment mode and would wait until an ‘accumulation of additional evidence’,” Strickland wrote in a Tuesday morning note. “Recent data suggests the economy remains soft with little sign of retail picking up on the back of tax cuts, though we expect the RBA to wait until next month’s data before deciding in case spending was shifted between quarters.”
· Investors and policy makers will watch for Australian July retail sales figures to see if recent measures — such as income tax cuts and interest rate cuts — are driving up consumption. That data is due around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
· Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% while the Topix index was largely flat. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.11%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 0.22%.
Overnight, Wall Street was closed for a public holiday.
Reference: CNBC
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