Nov 9, 2018
Now That $4.3 Trillion Wipeout in Asian Stocks Is Getting Deeper
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Things were looking good for Asian stocks up to Thursday. Then crude entered a bear market and Chinese tech stocks plunged.
Just like that, the region’s equity benchmark erased weekly gains and is now heading for a sixth slide in seven weeks, only worsening the wipeout that already erased $4.3 trillion of market value this year. Of note: energy companies are, by far, the biggest decliners, followed by tech shares as Tencent Holdings sank 4 percent. Watch for its quarterly results next week -- analysts expect the giant will report its slowest revenue increase in more than three years.
Also throwing some shade to the short-lived optimism is the U.S. dollar, which resumed its rise as the Federal Reserve signaled it’s still ready to increase rates in December. The strong greenback has been a key concern for investors in the region, as it’s weakened local currencies and triggered massive outflows from emerging-market assets.
There are also some country-specific news to keep in mind:
- China’s factory inflation slowed for a fourth month while consumer prices steadied amid sluggish demand.
- The nation is also aiming to boost large banks’ loans to private companies to at least one-third of new corporate lending, said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
- Australia’s central bank said it expects stronger growth and hiring to help lift inflation, but warned of risks to the global outlook from a worsening trade war and weaker China.
- Malaysia’s industrial production rose 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, matching projections, while data on Indonesia’s current-account balance is due later.
Hong Kong and Chinese shares tanked more than 1 percent on Friday, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index showing a familiar look that doesn’t inspire any good -- just see this chart by Mark Cranfield, a Bloomberg M-Live strategist:
Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index also slumped by more than 1 percent amid concerns that a rebalancing of indexes will lead to the lower weighting of some companies.
Here are some of Friday’s big movers:
- AAC Technologies fell as much as 6.2 percent as Morgan Stanley and other banks cut their ratings on the stock, following disappointing third-quarter results.
- Nexon, one of the biggest foreign video-game publishers in China, sank after saying profits in the mainland will drop by about a fifth in the current quarter.
- Lenovo rallied a much as 6.3 percent. The company’s quarterly profit beat estimates after the Chinese company reclaimed the top spot in the global PC market.
And a look at what’s coming over the weekend and next week:
- Alibaba will hold its annual Singles’ Day online-shopping event on Nov. 11.
- China money supply and new-yuan loans data will be released any time through Nov. 15.
- Asean Summit begins in Singapore, with leaders from 10 member countries, along with China, the U.S., Japan and Russia.
- Japan GDP and industrial production data are due Nov. 14.
- Companies including Tencent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Want Want China, Singapore Airlines will report earnings next week.
Stock-Market Summary
- Japan’s Topix index down 0.4%; Nikkei 225 down 0.9%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 2.3%; Hang Seng China Enterprises down 2.6%; Shanghai Composite down 1.2%
- Taiwan’s Taiex index down 1.1%
- South Korea’s Kospi index down 0.2%; Kospi 200 down 0.2%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 down 0.4%; New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 up 0.4%
- India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index and NSE Nifty 50 little changed
- Singapore’s Straits Times Index down 0.8%; Malaysia’s KLCI down 0.8%; Philippine Stock Exchange down 1%; Jakarta Composite down 1.5%; Thailand’s SET down 0.5%; Vietnam’s VN Index down 0.8%
To contact the reporter on this story: Moxy Ying in Hong Kong at yying13@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Cecile Vannucci
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.