Investors remain cautious
tokyo — Global stock markets were mixed on Thursday amid concern over the trade tensions between the US and China. Uncertainty remains, but the original tariff threats made earlier in the week were not followed through.
France’s CAC 40 was almost unchanged at per cent at 5,372.70 in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose by 0.3 per cent to 7,652.80, but Germany’s DAX shed 0.3 per cent to 12,679.00. US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures edging up less than 0.1 per cent to 24671 and S&P 500 futures up 0.1 per cent to 2775.6.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished up 0.6 per cent at 22,693.04, and Australia’s S&P/ ASX 200 climbed one per cent to 6,232.10. South Korea’s Kospi dropped one per cent to 2,339.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite also fell, Hong Kong by 1.4 per cent to 29,296.05 and Shanghai by 1.4 per cent to 2,875.81.
Markets have been on edge with the US and China announcing tariffs on each other’s imports and threatening more. After a global drop on Tuesday, markets rebounded on Wednesday and remain stable as the sting of President Donald Trump’s tariff threats fade.
“Uncertainties surrounding how things are moving on Trump’s trade deal, not only with China but also with other economies, are still out there,” said Margaret Yang Yan of CMC Markets. “We need to see constructive move in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing so that market confidence can be restored.”
The dollar rose to ¥110.58 from ¥110.02 late on Wednesday. The euro dropped to $1.1560 from $1.1572.
SOS for Philippine stocks
Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank needs to do more to help stocks recover from a slump that has pushed them into bear market territory and made them Asia’s worst performers this year, according to investors.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 2.3 per cent on Thursday, leaving it down more than 20 per cent from its January peak.
Fritz Ocampo, who manages about $19 billion as chief investment officer at BDO Unibank in Makati, said the central bank’s second interest rate hike this year on Wednesday will fail to fuel a
We need to see constructive move in trade negotiations... so that market confidence can be restored Margaret Yang Yan, Market analyst at CMC Markets
sustainable rebound in stocks because it’s not enough to fully arrest the local currency’s slide, as inflation has yet to peak. The Philippine peso has lost 6.7 per cent this year, the biggest drop among Asian currencies.
“The market needs a clear announcement to calm nerves,” Ocampo said. “We may have not seen the bottom yet. Any rally could be short-lived because international investors are unwinding out of emerging markets.”
Over $43 billion in market value has vanished this year as the benchmark slid more than 17 per cent, the world’s worst performer after Turkey. From its record close on January 29, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index has slumped 22 per cent, breaching the 7,246.90 level that marks a bear market. It closed at 7,098.15 Thursday, a seventeen-month low.
“Investors are still jittery,” said Manny Cruz, analyst at Asiasec Equities in Manila. “The foreign selloff remains relentless as the rate increase hasn’t provided a catalyst while prospects escalated that a trade war will erupt between the US and China.”