Asian Stocks Drift As China's Economic Challenges Intensify
The focus during the week will shift to the US GDP print to see if the Federal Reserve was late in slashing its key rates
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region kicked off the week mixed as concerns about the worsening Chinese economy weighed on investors.
However, all eyes will be on the US GDP print to ascertain if the Federal Reserve was late in slashing its lending rates.
Equity benchmark in Australia led the decline while that of South Korea was marginally higher. Future contracts in Australia, Hong Kong and China point to an early loss at the Monday.
The South Korean Kospi was up 0.3% at 2,602, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 was down 0.7% at 8,157as of 6:02 a.m. The stock market in Japan will be closed for a public holiday.
China's economic concerns deepened on Friday as data showed a decline in government spending and a significant rise in youth unemployment. Further, the US is said to reveal its proposed rules that would ban Chinese- and Russian-made hardware and software for vehicles, Bloomberg reported citing people aware of the development.
Friday's jobless claims, durable goods, and revised GDP data for US will be the most watched events in the week to know if the Fed was late to react.
Meanwhile, stocks on Wall Street saw volatile trade to end lower as the euphoria over the rate cut by the Central Bank faded out. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.19% and 0.36%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.09%.
Crude oil was steady after a second weekly gain despite escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Brent crude was trading 0.09% higher at $74.56 a barrel as of 5:52 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.11% at $71.08.
Key Levels
US Dollar Index at 100.79
US 10-year bond yield at 3.74%.
Brent crude up 0.09% at $74.56 per barrel.
Bitcoin was down 0.06% at $63,170.23
Gold spot was down 0.08% at $2,619.82.
