Tech shares probable to weigh on Taiwan stock market
The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 180 points or 1 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,660-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with support from oil and financial stocks likely to be undercut by weakness from technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.
For the day, the index dropped 137.42 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 17,666.12 after trading between 17,650.07 and 17,797.90.
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Japan stocks lower at close of trade
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus and Real Estate sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.58 percent.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Japan Steel Works Ltd which rose 5.87 percent or 200.0 points to trade at 3610.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Corp added 5.06 percent or 20.0 points to end at 415.0 and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. was up 4.38 percent or 26.9 points to 641.4 in late trade.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2519 to 1019 and 231 ended unchanged.
Shares in Japan Steel Works Ltd rose to 3-years highs; up 5.87 percent or 200.0 to 3610.0. Shares in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. rose to 52-week highs; up 5.06 percent or 20.0 to 415.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0 percent to 18.68.
Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.18 percent or 0.14 to $78.64 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in January rose 0.10 percent or 0.08 to hit $82.39 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.50 percent or 8.95 to trade at $1792.75 a troy ounce.
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Sensex sheds 323pts
After holding gains for a major part of the trading day, the key benchmark indices nose-dived to lower levels in late deals dragged by weakness in key index heavyweights like Infosys, ITC and Reliance Industries.
The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, had opened 175 points higher at 58,839, steady gains in financial and power stocks helped the index touch a high of 58,968. However, weakness in late noon deals saw the BSE index slide to a low of 58,143 – down 825 points from the day’s high. The Sensex finally ended 323 points lower at 58,341.
The NSE Nifty had touched a high of 17,601 in intra-day deals, and then tanked to a low of 17,354. The index eventually ended with a loss of 88 points at 17,415.
Among the Sensex 30 shares, Maruti and Infosys plunged around 2.5 percent each to Rs 7,645 and Rs 1,690, respectively. ITC and Tech Mahindra were down nearly 2 percent each. Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement and HDFC were the other major losers.
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DAX index forms break and retest as German risks remain
The German DAX 40 index has struggled in the past few days. The index has dropped by more than 0.15 percent in the futures market as investors reflect on the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Germany. Other indices like the FTSE 100, Dow Jones, CAC 40, and S&P 500 have dropped after Jerome Powell’s nomination.
What happened? There are three main concerns about the DAX index. First, in the past few days, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country has been rising. Indeed, Angela Merkel and her health minister have warned that the surge will continue in the coming months. This could affect companies in the index like Daimler and BMW.
Second, the index has retreated as investors take profits. Besides, DAX has risen by more than 20 percent this year. Finally, the market is looking at the incoming government. According to CNBC, a coalition will likely be announced in the coming days. Olaf Scholtz will become the successor to Angela Merkel while Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habech will become senior officials.
The worst-performing DAX index constituents on Monday were Zalando, Delivery Hero, Sartorious, Vonovia, and Siemens Energy. On the other hand, the top performers were Deutsche Telecom, BMW, Daimler, and Continental.
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Commodity-linked shares lift FTSE 100
UK’s FTSE 100 rebounded to end higher on Tuesday as gains in mining and energy shares countered fears over a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Europe, while online electricals retailer AO World plummeted after warning of product shortages.
After falling as much as 0.7 percent, the blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.3 percent higher, aided by advances in miners including Rio Tinto, BHP Group, Glencore and oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
However, investor sentiment was in check as continental Europe, where German and French stocks were down on concerns about fresh restrictions amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
“The fourth wave of COVID being endured in parts of Continental Europe is prompting the reintroduction of restrictions and resulting civil unrest, threatening its economic recovery,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
British minister Robert Courts said on Monday the UK was looking to review its COVID-19 travel rules in January.
Britain has lagged European peers in lifting travel restrictions with airlines complaining that the need for day-2 coronavirus tests and complicated passenger locator forms have deterred UK travel.
The FTSE 100 has advanced 11.6 percent so far this year, helped by robust corporate earnings and record low interest rates. However, it continues to underperform its European peers as supply chain constraints and inflationary worries weigh on businesses.