21/07/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
On Thursday, Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed performance as investors analyzed various economic data across the region.
In China, the one and five-year loan prime rates remained unchanged following the release of disappointing second-quarter GDP figures.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index extended its losses from the previous two days, falling 0.26%. Mainland Chinese markets were also in negative territory, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.92% to close at 3,169.52, and the Shenzhen Component declining 1.06% to 10,816, marking its fifth consecutive day of losses.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.23% to close at 32,490.52, while the Topix was down 0.79% at 2,260.9. Surprisingly, Japan recorded a trade surplus of 43 billion yen ($308 million) in June, its first surplus in 23 months.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.31% at 2,600.23, while the Kosdaq continued to rise, advancing 0.85% and closing at 931.6, reaching 16-month highs.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged higher to close at 7,325, following news that the country’s unemployment rate for June declined slightly to 3.5%, compared to 3.6% in May.
US
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its winning streak to nine consecutive days, driven by strong earnings results from drugmaker Johnson & Johnson. It was the Dow’s best daily winning streak since 2017. However, the broader market suffered losses due to post-earnings declines in popular tech stocks such as Netflix and Tesla.
The 30-stock Dow, which has less exposure to tech stocks compared to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, gained 163.97 points, or 0.47%, to close at 35,225.18. In contrast, the S&P 500 slipped 0.68% to 4,534.87, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.05% to finish the session at 14,063.31. This shows the Dow’s outperformance compared to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, which has been the widest since February of the previous year.
Johnson & Johnson’s shares rose 6% after the company raised its full-year guidance and reported quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Another Dow component, Travelers, also performed well, beating analyst estimates for revenue in the quarter, leading to a boost in its shares.
Commodity
On Thursday, oil prices inched higher as a lower-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories and a weaker demand outlook kept investors cautious. September Brent futures rose 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.65 a barrel, while August U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $75.63 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices slipped from a two-month high as the dollar and bond yields ticked higher. However, hopes for a pause in rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve after the July meeting limited the decline. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,968.85 per ounce, after reaching its highest level since May 17 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,972.
The dollar gained 0.6% against other currencies after U.S. jobless claims data, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields also rose to 3.850%. The combination of a stronger dollar and higher yields contributed to the slight pullback in gold prices from its recent highs.
The above analysis is only for the views of market researchers and is for reference only and is not regarded as a specific investment suggestion.
