Asia stocks advance as investors await US midterm election results November 9, 2022 Asian stocks advance as investors await US midterm election results<br /> November 09 2022 Creation time: 09:35 AM Last update: 09:35 AM Views: 65 Singapore, Nov 9 (BNA): Asian stocks rose and the dollar fluctuated as investors awaited US inflation data as well as US midterm election results that may signal a shift in power in Washington. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.45%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2% and Australian shares rose 0.70%, Reuters reported. China’s stock market opened flat, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index up 0.12%. Chinese stocks rose last week on hopes that the country’s authorities will ease the policy of not spreading the emerging corona virus, but the rise in cases of the Covid-19 virus has dampened expectations. “Despite all the positive talk about slowly solving the no-Covid problem and trying bigger events, it looks like more lockdowns may be on the way,” said Robert Carnell, head of regional research at ING. Meanwhile, China’s factory gate prices for October fell for the first time since December 2020, confirming sluggish domestic demand and disruption to production amid strict measures on the emerging coronavirus and stagnant real estate sector. On Tuesday, all three major US stock indexes made their third consecutive session in the green. The results of the US midterm elections will determine whether Democrats lose or retain control of Congress in the middle of President Joe Biden’s term, as investors anticipate gains for Republicans. Republicans broadly favor the five seats they need to control the House of Representatives, but control of the Senate may be limited to tight races in several states. Strategists at Saxo Markets wrote that a separate Congress will reduce expectations for fiscal support measures, leading investors to expect the Fed to become less aggressive in raising interest rates. They added that such an outcome could lead to a rally in equities and is likely to put downward pressure on the dollar. Historically, stocks have tended to perform better under divided government when the Democrat is in the White House, with investors attributing some of that performance to political deadlock that prevents either side from making major policy changes. Preliminary results showed that several Republican senators easily won re-election, but the outcome probably won’t be known any time soon. In the cryptocurrency world, bitcoin fell nearly 1% on Wednesday after slipping 10% after exchange platform Binance announced that it had signed a non-binding agreement on Tuesday to acquire rival exchange FTX in the face of an apparent liquidity crunch. US inflation data due for release on Thursday will also be on investors’ minds, with economists forecasting a decline in both monthly and annual core numbers to 0.5% and 6.5%, respectively. Fed fund futures are priced at 67% with a chance of a 50 basis point rate hike in December, and a 33% chance of a 75 basis point increase. In the currency market, the US dollar came under downward pressure from bets on the Federal Reserve once again on higher interest rates, reopening China and driving growth. The dollar was last traded at $1.1006 per euro and bought 145.20 yen. / FRX Oil prices remained mostly unchanged in early trading, after falling 3% in the previous session due to concerns about demand. US crude recently fell 0.01% to $88.90 a barrel, and Brent crude was $95.40, up 0.04% on the day. SM Source link Related READ MORE Oil prices continue to rise, with Brent recording $82.82 a barrel
November 09 2022 Creation time: 09:35 AM Last update: 09:35 AM Views: 65 Singapore, Nov 9 (BNA): Asian stocks rose and the dollar fluctuated as investors awaited US inflation data as well as US midterm election results that may signal a shift in power in Washington. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.45%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2% and Australian shares rose 0.70%, Reuters reported. China’s stock market opened flat, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index up 0.12%. Chinese stocks rose last week on hopes that the country’s authorities will ease the policy of not spreading the emerging corona virus, but the rise in cases of the Covid-19 virus has dampened expectations. “Despite all the positive talk about slowly solving the no-Covid problem and trying bigger events, it looks like more lockdowns may be on the way,” said Robert Carnell, head of regional research at ING. Meanwhile, China’s factory gate prices for October fell for the first time since December 2020, confirming sluggish domestic demand and disruption to production amid strict measures on the emerging coronavirus and stagnant real estate sector. On Tuesday, all three major US stock indexes made their third consecutive session in the green. The results of the US midterm elections will determine whether Democrats lose or retain control of Congress in the middle of President Joe Biden’s term, as investors anticipate gains for Republicans. Republicans broadly favor the five seats they need to control the House of Representatives, but control of the Senate may be limited to tight races in several states. Strategists at Saxo Markets wrote that a separate Congress will reduce expectations for fiscal support measures, leading investors to expect the Fed to become less aggressive in raising interest rates. They added that such an outcome could lead to a rally in equities and is likely to put downward pressure on the dollar. Historically, stocks have tended to perform better under divided government when the Democrat is in the White House, with investors attributing some of that performance to political deadlock that prevents either side from making major policy changes. Preliminary results showed that several Republican senators easily won re-election, but the outcome probably won’t be known any time soon. In the cryptocurrency world, bitcoin fell nearly 1% on Wednesday after slipping 10% after exchange platform Binance announced that it had signed a non-binding agreement on Tuesday to acquire rival exchange FTX in the face of an apparent liquidity crunch. US inflation data due for release on Thursday will also be on investors’ minds, with economists forecasting a decline in both monthly and annual core numbers to 0.5% and 6.5%, respectively. Fed fund futures are priced at 67% with a chance of a 50 basis point rate hike in December, and a 33% chance of a 75 basis point increase. In the currency market, the US dollar came under downward pressure from bets on the Federal Reserve once again on higher interest rates, reopening China and driving growth. The dollar was last traded at $1.1006 per euro and bought 145.20 yen. / FRX Oil prices remained mostly unchanged in early trading, after falling 3% in the previous session due to concerns about demand. US crude recently fell 0.01% to $88.90 a barrel, and Brent crude was $95.40, up 0.04% on the day. SM
