Asia-Pacific shares rise slightly after a day without goals in Wall St



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Thursday 05h30 GMT

What do you want to know

  • Higher stocks after the warm day of the wall
  • The renminbi reaches its highest level in 7 months
  • The Australian dollar jumps and then drops

Overall view

Shares were generally higher in Asia after a quiet day on Wall Street, while oil prices were based on past gains. The Chinese renminbi briefly touched its strongest level in seven months, while the Australian dollar was thwarted by contrasting economic and financial results, reaching a two-week high before making a brutal U-turn. after the announcement of a Chinese port banning Australian coal imports.

Hot topic

In the currency markets, the Australian dollar sharply reversed its gains on Thursday after Westpac expected the Reserve Bank of Australia to lower rates in August and November before falling back on a Reuters report, citing an anonymous manager would have banned the port of Dalian, China. the import of Australian coal.

Australia is highly exposed to China through its commodity exports. The currency retreated after a two-week high hit by positive employment numbers after Bill Evans, Westpac's chief economist, said he expected the RBA to cut the key rate by 25 percent. base points in August and November.

The Australian dollar weakened 0.6%, to 0.7119 USD in the afternoon Asian session, after climbing 0.6 percent in employment figures in the morning .

Philip Lowe, governor of Australia's central bank, this month opened the door to lower interest rates, citing the risks badociated with the slowdown in the global economy and the easing of the domestic real estate market. The bank has maintained its cash rate at 1.5% since August 2016.

"The decision of the board of directors of the reserve bank to accept the possibility of a further decline in interest rates, despite the current record levels, is of paramount importance," said Mr. Evans. Westpac also revised down the country's economic growth forecast for 2019 and 2020, setting them at 2.2% and 2.6%, respectively.

Elsewhere in the foreign exchange markets, the Chinese renminbi rose 0.5% to R6.6887 per dollar, its highest level in seven months, while the US-China trade negotiations were to enter their third day Thursday at Washington.

The Japanese yen was 0.1% firmer at ¥ 110.78 per dollar, while the pound was stable just above the $ 1.30 mark. Similarly, the greenback remained unchanged from its global peers, with the dollar index at 96.484.

Equities and fixed income securities

After a slow start, the Asian stock markets almost all rose during the afternoon session. After a lukewarm day on Wall Street, the S & P 500 closed up 0.2% after the release of a Fed statement showing that officials were generally supportive of a "patient posture." interest rate.

Sydney's S & P / ASX 200 index rose 0.6%, with a 0.5% increase in financial services partially offset by a 0.8% decline in miners. Wesfarmers climbed 6.8% after the Australian conglomerate conglomerate in industrial conglomerate announced higher net profit and an exceptional dividend following the demise of the Coles supermarket chain.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.6%, while China's CSI 300 rose 1%. In Seoul, Kospi's exchange rate was stable, with Samsung's share price rising only 0.2% following the launch of the first collapsible smartphone in San Francisco.

Tokyo's Topix advanced 0.2%, with industry gains of 0.3% essentially offset by a 0.5% decline in telecommunications.

Sovereign debt markets were relatively calm while 10-year US Treasury yields, which fluctuated in opposite prices, rose 2 basis points to 2.664%.

Basic products

Oil prices rose more and more in Asia after rising more than 1% on Wednesday. The international benchmark, Brent, rose 0.2% to $ 67.19 a barrel. The West Texas Intermediate brand rose 0.5% to $ 57.43.

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