Markets Update: Asian stocks fluctuated due to Hong Kong's decline, despite initial stimulus optimism. China's rate cut was expected, but future support remains uncertain. Some Chinese stocks gained, but the broader Asia-Pacific index outside Japan declined. The dollar strengthened, and gold and oil prices rose.
Global Markets Roundup: 21 October 2024
FESX1! | Z1! | NI225 | NQ1! | ES1! | EURUSD | USDJPY | GOLD | CL1! | ZC1! | ZS1! HG1!
Asian stocks fluctuated between gains and losses on Monday, influenced by the downward trend in Hong Kong stocks. Initial enthusiasm regarding Beijing's series of economic stimulus measures, which were unveiled at the end of September, has waned recently as investors await more specific information on additional fiscal support from policymakers. Despite China's decision to reduce its key lending rates on Monday, the market had already expected this development.
China's blue-chip index 3399300 fluctuated between losses and gains at the start of trading, but later surged during the Asian afternoon, primarily driven by an increase in technology companies. The index was up by 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite Index 000001 rose by 0.31%. The Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index (.CSI899050) skyrocketed by 14% to reach a new all-time high, following an announcement by the exchange on Sunday about supporting small and medium-sized tech firms with training and financial resources to facilitate their listing. This news did not have the same impact on Hong Kong markets, where stocks HSI dropped by over 1%, leading to a 0.26% decline in MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), marking a slight setback after U.S. stocks closed higher for the sixth consecutive week on Friday. Japan's Nikkei NI225 increased by 0.12%. More information regarding Chinese stimulus measures may take some time to surface. Stock futures indicated a mixed start in Europe, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures FESX1! decreasing by 0.1%, while FTSE futures Z1! edged up by 0.17%. Nasdaq futures NQ1! dipped by 0.08%, while S&P 500 futures ES1! remained unchanged.
BTCUSD, saw a 0.5% increase to reach $69,080.72, reaching its highest point since July at $69,487 earlier in the session. The leading cryptocurrency globally surged by 9.6% last week and has gained over 8% for the current month.
In currencies, on Monday, the dollar remained close to a peak of over two months against a range of currencies, with the dollar index DXY standing at 103.49. Sterling decreased by 0.05% to $1.3041, while the EURUSD dropped by 0.06% to $1.0861. EURUSDÂ | USDJPY | GBPUSD | AUDUSD | NZDUSD
In commodities, Gold prices reached a new all-time high of $2,732.73 per ounce, continuing their upward trend following a gain of over 2% last week. On Monday, oil prices slightly increased, recovering from a significant drop experienced last week. Brent crude futures BRN1! were up by 0.6% to $73.49 per barrel, and U.S. crude CL1! rose by 0.7% to $69.70 per barrel. GOLD | CL1! | ZC1! | ZS1! HG1!
Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.
General news - Information source from multiple newswires.
The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!
The Trade Academy Team