Tokyo (awp/afp) – Markets in Asia are moving in the red on Tuesday ahead of monetary decisions in the United States and Japan, with Chinese markets still showing themselves to be affected by concerns about economic recovery after the publication of disappointing indicators.
The yen at its lowest since the end of November, the BoJ expected to be cautious
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the flagship Nikkei index lost 0.24% to 39,364.68 points and the broader Topix index lost 0.37% to 2728.20 points.
Japanese markets are “nervous” ahead of decisions by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ), underlined Kosuke Oka of Monex Securities.
The Japanese currency stabilized around 154 yen per dollar after crossing this downward threshold the day before, for the first time since the end of November. Around 06:15 GMT the greenback was trading for 154.08 yen (-0.1%).
“The yen remains under pressure, in the shadow of a strong dollar and in the absence of a signal from the Bank of Japan regarding an imminent rate hike,” commented Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
Markets are “betting on a cautious approach (by the Central Bank) until January, or even March in my opinion, which will give it time to assess the global economic changes due to Trump’s trade barriers and the strategies of the China when it comes to currencies,” he added.
The Fed, for its part, is expected to lower its rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the end of its meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
SoftBank confident in the US economy under Trump
The stock of Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank Group climbed 4.41%, after its founder, billionaire Masayoshi Son, promised Monday during a press conference with Donald Trump to invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years.
“My confidence in the United States economy was enormously strengthened after (the) victory” of the Republican candidate in the November 5 vote, assured the Japanese entrepreneur, according to whom this injection will create 100,000 jobs.
Other Japanese stocks in the technology sector performed well after the Nasdaq jumped the day before on Wall Street, such as the integrated circuit specialist Socionext (+3.12%).
The manufacturer of operational test equipment for the semiconductor industry Advantest, on the other hand, fell by 9.35%, with some attributing this movement to a massive sell-off before Wednesday’s IPO of Kioxia, the chip giant. memories.
Japanese video game pioneer Nintendo gained 3.33% and consumer electronics giant Sony 1.68%.
Chinese economy suspended from stimulus measures
The Chinese markets were in the red, after having already fallen the day before in the face of mixed Chinese indicators illustrating a timid economic recovery, with a marked slowdown in the growth of consumption and real estate investment.
Around 06:25 GMT, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost 0.28% to 19,741.01 points. The Shanghai composite index lost 0.59% and that of Shenzhen lost 1.56%.
“Although the data is a little worse than expected, China will probably manage to achieve its growth target of around 5%+ for 2024,” estimated Lynn Song in an ING note.
“The speed and scale” of the recovery measures that Beijing plans for 2025 “will probably play the most important role in the ability of the Chinese economy to maintain stable growth,” according to this economist.
On the Seoul Stock Exchange, the Kospi index dropped 1.29%. The South Korean currency fell slightly to 1,438.8 won per dollar (-0.05%).
Bitcoin continues its rise
Bitcoin remained strong after soaring on Monday following the announcement of the upcoming entry of software company MicroStrategy Computer, a heavyweight in the sector, into the prestigious Nasdaq 100 index.
The cryptocurrency was trading around 06:30 GMT for $106,528.
Oil prices were increasing: around 06:15 GMT, a barrel of WTI gained 0.18% to $70.84, and that of Brent from the North Sea gained 0.22% to $74.07.
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