Asia-Pacific markets down by weak global sentiment after Fitch downgrades the US’s credit.
Nikada
Japan -2.30%. The Bank of Japan says policy tweaks don’t mark the end of monetary easing. Deputy Governor Shinichi Ichida reiterated on Wednesday that the central bank’s flexible threshold for tolerance on long-term bond yields is merely a necessary modification to sustain its ultra-easy monetary policy position.
China -1.03%.
Hong Kong -2.37%.
India -0.94%.
Australia -1.29%.
New Zealand’s unemployment rate was 3.6% (vs. the expected 3.5%).
The S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.7 in July 2023 from 53.2 in June.
The Philippines and Myanmar rounded off the list of countries with improving manufacturing sectors, with PMI readings of 51.9 and 51.1, respectively.
The consumer price index in South Korea increased 2.3% in July 2023 from a year ago, easing for the sixth consecutive month to the lowest in more than two years, supporting the central bank’s move to pause its tightening cycle through most of this year.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, all three major indexes ended mixed on the first trading day of August, as the latest slew of corporate results came in mixed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.43% to settle at 14,283.91 points, while the S&P slipped 0.27% to close at 4,576.72 points. The Dow outperformed the other two indices, finishing 0.20% higher at 35,630.55 points.
Fitch downgrades the USA’s long-term credit rating to AA+ from AAA on concerns over the US’s ability to handle its finances and debt burden, citing an erosion of governance and expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years. As an aside, Fitch warned about this back in May, citing the debt ceiling debacle and US governance difficulties.
Currencies: (JPY:USD), (CNY:USD), (AUD:USD), (INR:USD), (HKD:USD), (NZD:USD).
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday, after sharp drop in U.S. crude stocks.
Brent crude futures for October rose 92 cents, or 1.1%, to $85.83 a barrel by 0001 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
climbed 84 cents, or 1.03%, to $82.21 a barrel.
Gold climbed on Wednesday as Fitch U.S. downgrade shakes markets. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,946.97 per ounce by 0312 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,984.
In other metals, spot silver eased 0.2% to $24.29, platinum dropped 0.5% to $926.18, and palladium was down 0.1% at $1,238.59.
U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday after Fitch downgrade: Dow -0.31%; S&P 500 -0.46%; Nasdaq -0.68%.
