Markets in Asia were dominated on Wednesday, December 18 by a wait-and-see attitude, with investors remaining on their guard before a highly anticipated communication from the American central bank (Fed), while a possible merger project between Honda and Nissan agitated the stock market. from Tokyo.
Tokyo without direction, eyes on the Fed
At 02:30 GMT on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the flagship Nikkei index lost 0.21% to 39,281.06 points, while the broader Topix index on the contrary gained 0.12% to 2,731.48 points.
“Trading should remain contained during the session (…) and aggressive transactions should be limited, pending the meeting” of the monetary committee of the American central bank (Fed) later today, underline experts from the Tokai Tokyo Intelligence firm. The consensus of analysts expects a drop of 0.25 points in the institution’s key rates. But several data demonstrating the persistence of inflation and the resilience of growth in the United States encourage investors to be cautious.
Latest: retail sales came out better than expected in November, up 0.7% over one month against 0.5% expected by analysts’ consensus, according to figures published Tuesday. “There are no positive surprises for US inflation in November: if it increased, it was mainly due to inflation in wholesale food products” but underlying inflation excluding food and energy “remains stable”leaving the Fed “room for maneuver to recalibrate its policy”estimate MUFG analysts. While recognizing “uncertainty about future monetary policy measures, in particular with regard to potential increases in customs duties (Americans) by the future Trump administration, which could have serious inflationary consequences”.
In this context, the foreign exchange market remained tight and sluggish: the Japanese currency depreciated slightly, to 153.66 yen per dollar (-0.13%), while the European currency, on the contrary, gained ground, to 1 .0500 dollar for one euro (+0.08%).
On the Seoul Stock Exchange, the leading Kospi index advanced by 0.90%. In Sydney, the ASX 200 index nibbled 0.21%.
Nissan shares soar 24%
“As the market as a whole lacks direction, the focus is on a few individual stocks”like car manufacturers, after press information, observe the experts from Tokai Tokyo.
Already associated in a “strategic partnership”Japanese automobile giants Honda and Nissan will begin talks for a merger and will soon sign a memorandum of understanding for the new entity, which their compatriot Mitsubishi could also join, reported the Nikkei business daily. Honda acknowledged that a merger was “among the possibilities”while denying that this has already been done.
Nissan’s stock was temporarily suspended on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before soaring 24%. At 02:30 GMT, at the end of morning trading, it was up 22.09%. Honda fell by 2.29%, and Mitsubishi rose by 13.23%.
Fleas: introduction without euphoria of Kioxia
Kioxia, a Japanese memory chip giant, entered the Tokyo stock market in one of the biggest IPOs of the year in the country, valuing the company at around $5 billion. In the midst of a boom in semiconductor production in the country, these first steps were sustained, but without excessive enthusiasm: at the end of morning trading, the title was trading at 1,508 yen, climbing around 8% compared to in his introductory course.
Chinese markets rise, oil sluggish
On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Hang Seng index rose 0.80% to 19,858.27 points around 02:45 GMT. The Shanghai composite index rose by 0.76% and that of Shenzhen by 0.80%.
According to analysts at Standard Chartered, the markets were digesting encouraging press information according to which Chinese leaders plan to renew for 2025 the official objective of economic growth of around 5%, even if it means widening the budget deficit to achieve this.
The oil market remained sluggish: the price of a barrel of WTI gained 0.11% to 70.16 dollars, that of Brent from the North Sea 0.10% to 73.26 dollars.
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