Asian stocks were mostly negative on Tuesday as the Delta coronavirus variant spread in key markets and Chinese officials took aim at video game producers, once more rattling investor confidence in the mainland’s markets. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat in the afternoon session after opening in negative territory. Japan’s Nikkei .N225 was off 0.52% later on Tuesday. China’s blue chip index CSI300 .CSI300 opened down 0.80% but recovered some ground to be down 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index .HSI fell 0.33% ...

Sterling rose in early London trading on Tuesday, helped by recent falls in COVID-19 infections in Britain and optimism around Britain’s easing of lockdown restrictions. After most lockdown measures in England were dropped in July, the pound had a rebound, reaching as high as $1.39835 at the end of the month. Since then it has stayed mostly above $1.39. At 0801 GMT on Tuesday, sterling was up 0.2% on the day versus the dollar, at $1.39125. Versus the euro, it was also 0.2% stronger, at 0.85365. Lee Hardman, currency analyst ...

China has been at the forefront of experimenting with a digital currency, with almost 21 million people taking part in digital yuan (e-CNY) tests through June, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). But what is the point of this experiment and what are the business and financial implications? First, a digital yuan offers better data for the PBOC—China’s central bank—and other government bodies. The more the digital currency is used, the more the government has instant awareness of purchases and transfers, even knowing the geographic location of activity. ...

USD: We don’t expect to see another bad week for the dollar In many ways, last week was a rather unique one for markets. A new risk factor – Beijing’s regulatory crackdown – hit risk assets, the Fed signalled it is nearing tapering but Powell sounded less hawkish than some expected, and ultimately the dollar weakened across the board. In the week ahead we think Beijing’s regulation moves will remain firmly in focus. Differently from what we saw at the start of last week, this now appears to be less ...

Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Philippine equities leading gains, tracking a rebound in Chinese shares, while currencies in the region weakened on rising COVID-19 cases. Philippine stocks .PSI jumped 2.8%, after having lost more than 3% in the previous session, while equities in Taiwan, Japan and China all rose more than 1%. “It is surprising that Asia-Pacific markets are doing this well given the absence of any major good news over the weekend,” Margaret Yang, a Singapore-based strategist at IG said. China shares .SSEC advanced as much ...

The dollar hovered just above a one-month low on Monday, with traders holding tight positions heading into a busy week that includes U.S. jobs data and an Australian central bank decision. The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against six major peers, stood at 92.065, down slightly from Friday, when it dipped as low as 91.775 for the first time since June 28. The index dropped 0.88% last week, its worst performance since early May, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated mid-week that rate increases were “a ways ...

Government bonds enjoyed their biggest monthly rally in July since at least March 2020, driven by risks from the COVID-19 Delta variant and central bank assurances that a paring back of monetary support was still far off. Concerns that the economic recovery was not as strong as expected prompted an initial rally, amplified by those who had bet against bonds rushing back into the market, investors say. Central bankers remain supportive. U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on July 14 the U.S. job market “is still a ways off” ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 1,710 Dec: 2,667 NYSE-Adv: 1,682 Dec: 2,406(Source: Nasdaq)

U.S. equity funds saw strong inflows in the week to July 28, bolstered by optimism over earnings and hopes for a faster economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. equity funds attracted a net $8.03 billion, the biggest inflow in five weeks, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed. Equity funds’ inflows were heavily focused on exchange-traded funds, whose holdings rose by $10.9 billion. On the other hand, U.S. equity mutual funds faced outflows of $943 million, underscoring investors’ preference for passive funds in recent months. U.S. growth funds received $2.7 billion, ...

China’s banking and insurance watchdog said it would seek to stabilise the expectations of foreign investors by continuing with efforts to implement policies designed to expand their market access. Investors have spooked this year by a series of regulatory actions, often sudden, that have upended norms for companies in the tech, property and private tutoring sectors. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said it would fully implement planned measures aimed at ensuring overseas investors are treated no less favourably than their Chinese counterparts and which would cut the ...

Global shares tracked Asia lower on Friday but remain on course for their sixth straight month of gains as solid corporate earnings and central bank largesse keep sentiment intact, while the dollar held near a 1-month low. MSCI’s World index was down 0.3% in early European trading, leaving it broadly flat on the week, but up 1% for the month, just shy of a record high. Markets remain in a tussle, though, as a Chinese crackdown on its technology sector and surging cases of the Delta variant of coronoavirus in ...

The dollar languished near a one-month low on Friday and was set for its worst weekly performance since May as dovish remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve together with underwhelming economic data took the steam out of a month-long rally. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was last at 91.853, a level not seen since June 29. For the week, the index is off 1.1%, its worst weekly showing since early May. For the month, the index is down 0.5% so far, ...

Investors turned bearish on the yuan for the first time since April as China’s regulatory crackdown on private sector firms sent jitters through markets, while sentiment towards the Indian rupee improved from a fortnight ago, a Reuters poll found. Short positions were raised on all other Asian currencies like the Philippine peso PHP=, Malaysia’s ringgit and the Thai baht as the region’s dire COVID-19 situation and prospects of broad dollar strength eroded their appeal. All 13 responses for the poll were received, however, before the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 2,391 Dec: 1,957 NYSE-Adv: 2,849 Dec: 1,220(Source: Nasdaq)

Carnage in China’s financial markets signals the beginning of a new era, investors say, as the government puts socialism before shareholders and regulatory changes rip apart the old playbook. Stocks and sentiment have taken a drubbing as Communist Party rulers seek to remake the property, technology and education sectors to curb cost pressures and better serve ordinary people. The new model appears to place common prosperity, as President Xi Jinping has put it, ahead of helter-skelter growth, investors say. According to some analysts, it is the most significant philosophical shift ...