Asian Stocks Down, Focus on Korea, Middle East
Asian stocks started the week on a weak note, as investors grappled with South Korea’s political turmoil and awaited fresh stimulus from Beijing. Oil prices steadied after Syria’s government was toppled.
Korean equity benchmarks fell as much as 1.8% at the open, with Australian shares also down. Japanese shares were flat. Futures pointed to a weak open in Hong Kong. The dollar and 10-year Treasury yields were steady.
Investors are bracing themselves this week for a series of final central bank decisions on four continents, a key meeting of Chinese officials and U.S. inflation data in a bid to boost earnings this year and help guide positioning through 2025. A gauge of global stocks has returned more than 20% this year, on track for a second straight big gain, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The week ahead will be packed with event risks everywhere,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd. in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients. “High US CPI will not necessarily derail a cut at next week’s FOMC meeting” but could weigh on prospects for further easing and the dollar’s movements.
Korea remains in focus in the region, as some lawmakers have urged President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign amid growing public anger over his brief imposition of martial law last week. Opposition lawmakers have said they will push for another impeachment vote against Yoon after he survived the first. Officials vowed on Monday to closely monitor the country’s economy and markets.
Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China’s daily yuan fixing will be parsed after the central bank signaled support for the currency with a series of strong fixings last week. That comes before consumer and producer price data that may show sluggish demand in the world’s second-largest economy and add to expectations of more fiscal support from the Central Economic Work Conference that starts on Wednesday.
“There is a reasonable argument that China may have been hoarding cash while waiting for a change in US trade policy from January,” Barclays strategists led by Themistoklis Fiotakis wrote in a note to clients. Given there is room for dollar easing, “yuan depreciation pressures should also ease temporarily given the PBOC’s resistance at around 7.30” per dollar.
Source: Bloomberg
