GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 34814.39 236.82 0.68% Nasdaq 15161.53 123.77 0.82% S&P 500 4480.70 37.65 0.85% FTSE 100 7016.49 -17.57 -0.25% Nikkei Stock 30344.63 -167.08 -0.55% Hang Seng 24765.83 -267.38 -1.07% Kospi 3130.05 -23.35 -0.74% SGX Nifty* 17518.50 -15.0 -0.09% *Sep contract USD/JPY 109.28-29 -0.08 Range 109.46 109.23 EUR/USD 1.1816-19 +0.02 Range 1.1823 1.1815 CBOT Wheat Dec $7,122 per bushel Spot Gold $1,796.10/oz 0.1% Nymex Crude (NY) $72.70 $2.24 US STOCKS
Stocks rose, staging a rebound as investors tried to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.
The S&P 500 rose about 0.9%. Energy was the best-performing sector of the S&P 500, boosted by the oil rally. The broad stocks gauge on Tuesday fell for the sixth time in seven trading days. It finished Wednesday roughly 1.3% below the all-time closing high it notched in early September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8%. Stocks have retreated in September, with some investors worried that markets are ripe for a pullback after marching higher for much of the year. The Dow is down about 1.5% since the start of the month.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were up slightly, led by gains in energy, shipping and auto stocks, as hopes continued for fiscal stimulus. Investors were focusing on any comments by candidates for a ruling-party chief and their policy implications. The party-chief election is set for Sept. 29. The Nikkei Stock Average was 0.1% higher at 30540.67.
South Korea's Kospi was 0.3% higher at 3163.90 in early trade, building on four consecutive sessions of gains on some foreign buying. Construction stocks were leading the gains. Tech giant Kakao Corp., which was up 0.8%, may be in focus, following reports the country's antitrust regulator may file a complaint against its founder over alleged violation of the fair trade act.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.4% at 24931.43, as China's slowing growth dims sentiment. Investors are concerned about China's economic slowdown, but they also expect the Chinese government to increase fiscal support for the economy, KGI Securities said, predicting a range-trading session for the HSI. Losses were led by real-estate companies. The Hang Seng TECH Index was up 0.1% at 6307.01.
Chinese stocks were broadly higher in early trade, as investors took a breather from China's weak economic data on Wednesday. Investors may remain cautious on Chinese equities following the disappointing retail sales data and a potential tightening of regulations around casinos in Macau, IG said. The Shanghai Composite Index was 0.5% higher at 3673.74, the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.2% to 2490.55, while the ChiNext Price Index--a measure for emerging industries and startups--was 0.3% lower at 3191.79.
FOREX
Asian currencies consolidated against the U.S. dollar amid mixed sentiment. The currency market has been seesawing, DBS said. The mood was caught between stock-market bears looking for a correction in September-October and bond-market bears who see the Fed tapering asset purchases before the year-end, DBS said. This deadlock is expected to continue into next week's FOMC meeting, DBS added. USD/KRW rose 0.2% to 1,168.43, while USD/JPY was down 0.1% at 109.26 and USD/SGD was little changed at 1.3408.
METALS
Gold was little changed in early Asia trade, as investors weighed the rise in Treasury yields, which is sapping appetite for the precious metal, ANZ said. "Subdued inflation expectations have been a headwind, with our gold valuation model still suggesting it is undervalued, driven by expectations that the spike in inflation will transitory," it said. Oanda thinks support for gold remains at $1,780.00. If it breaches that level then Oanda expects deeper losses to $1,750.00. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,796.10/oz.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil declined in early Asian trade after rallying to a six-week high overnight, following another large drawdown in U.S. oil inventories, ANZ said. Near-term sentiment may be supported by OPEC's latest outlook, in which the cartel raised its 2022 oil demand forecast. OPEC now expects demand to rise by 4.15 million barrels a day next year. "That growth is much larger than the EIA and IEA estimated in their August reports," ANZ said. A more optimistic view on Chinese demand and positive economic developments in Europe helped to support sentiment. Front-month WTI crude oil futures and Brent crude were both 0.3% lower at $72.43/bbl $75.28/bbl, respectively.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-15-21 2315ET
