Benchmarks in Japan and China rose, while South Korean markets were closed for a national holiday. Shares fell in Australia.
Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, calmed worries in Japan by backing away from comments suggesting he favored raising taxes on capital gains and dividends. The possibility of such an increase had spooked investors after he took office a week ago.
U.S. stock indexes closed lower last week following a disappointing jobs report. This week, attention turns to inflation numbers due out on Wednesday, and upcoming corporate earnings.
Aviation-related stocks in Singapore surged in Monday trade, with Singapore Airlines soaring 6.63% while SATS gained 3.6%. The gains came after Singapore authorities announced over the weekend that more “vaccinated travel lanes” are set to open with more countries. The broader Straits Times index in the country rose around 0.1%.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% to 28,455.71 in afternoon trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3% to 7,299.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.8% to 25,296.08, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 3,598.38. South Korean markets were closed for a national holiday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.71%.
Markets in South Korea are closed on Monday for a holiday.
· China tech stocks surge despite $534 million antitrust fine slapped on food delivery giant Meituan
Meituan shares surged over 9% on Monday despite the food delivery giant being slapped with a $500 million antitrust fine, as the penalty was not as large as expected.
On Friday, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said Meituan abused its dominant position in the country’s online food delivery market. The market regulator said Meituan pushed merchants to sign exclusive cooperation agreements with them and carried out punitive measures for those that didn’t.
· Lenovo stock drops 17% after withdrawing Shanghai listing application
· Philippine shares soar; Malaysian ringgit rises on easing travel curbs
Philippine shares soared nearly 4% on Monday as easing coronavirus restrictions boosted real estate and consumer firms, while stocks in Malaysia and India added about half a percent each.
Currencies in the region edged higher, with the Malaysian
ringgit and Singapore dollar rising on travel curb relaxations, while the Philippine peso weakened 0.4% to mark its second straight day of losses.
The ringgit scaled a near one-month peak and equities advanced for a fifth consecutive day after the government lifted interstate and international travel restrictions from Monday.
· European markets little changed Monday after a choppy week
The mood stateside was more tentative, with futures edging lower after the major indexes closed little changed on Friday, with investors shaking off concerns to a weaker-than-expected labor market report from the U.S.
Markets around the world whipsawed last week as investors monitored inflation expectations and U.S Treasury yields, which jumped to multi-month highs on Friday following the poor September jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department.
· U.S. earnings seen strong, but supply chains and costs worry investors
Investors are primed for another period of strong U.S. profit growth as third-quarter reports from Corporate America flow in starting next week. But as business continues to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, new problems are arising that are taking center stage for Wall Street, including supply-chain snags and inflationary pressures.
Analysts see a 29.6% year-over-year increase in earnings for S&P 500 companies in the third quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv as of Friday, down from 96.3% growth in the second quarter. The third-quarter forecast is down a touch from several weeks ago, a reversal of the recent trend for estimates.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Joplinglobe
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