Saudi Arabia stocks higher at close of trade
Saudi Arabia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Agriculture & Food, Petrochemicals and Energy & Utilities sectors led shares higher. At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share added 1.22 percent. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 158 to 102 and 24 ended unchanged. Crude oil for September delivery was down 0.69 percent or 0.58 to $83.82 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 0.41 percent or 0.36 to hit $87.19 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.04 percent or 0.75 to trade at $1,949.85 a troy ounce. EUR/SAR was up 0.47 percent to 4.14, while USD/SAR unchanged 0.00 percent to 3.75. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.31 percent at 101.99.
What to expect from Nifty, Sensex, bank Nifty in trade
Trends on Gift Nifty also suggest a weak opening for the frontline indices as the Gift Nifty futures were trading 19,558 as compared to Nifty futures’ previous close of 19,599. The benchmark Nifty50 fell 89 points on August 10 and closed the volatile session at 19,543. The index is facing strong resistance at around 19,650 level. Nifty traded in the range of 19,467 – 19,645 in the previous trading session and was unable to witness follow-through buying. The level of 19,500 has been acting as a strong support for the Nifty. Analysts believe a break on either side of the 19,440 – 19,645 band could determine the near future trend of the Nifty.
Japan’s Nikkei snaps 3 sessions of gains
Japan’s Nikkei share average snapped three consecutive sessions of gains on Wednesday, as heavyweights SoftBank Group and Daikin Industries slumped and caution grew ahead of the release of US inflation data. The Nikkei index fell 0.53 percent to close at 32,204.33, while the broader Topix slipped 0.40 percent to 2,282.57. All three major Wall Street benchmarks finished lower on Tuesday in a broad sell-off after the downgrading of several lenders by credit rating agency Moody’s reignited fears about the health of US banks and the economy. The US inflation report due out on Thursday is expected to show headline inflation picked up slightly in July to an annual 3.3 percent pace, while the core rate is seen unchanged at 4.8 percent. The data could offer further clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.
| Behavior of major Asian stock market indices (July-March FY2023) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Index | Index On 30.06.2022 | Index On 31.03.2023 | percent Change |
| Pakistan | KSE 100 Index | 41,540.83 | 40,000.83 | -3.71 |
| MSCI-EM | MSCI Emerging Market Index | 1,000.67 | 990.28 | -1.04 |
| China | Shanghai Composite | 3,398.62 | 3,272.86 | -3.70 |
| Vietnam | VN30 Index | 1,248.92 | 1,073.68 | -14.03 |
| India | BSE Sensex 30 | 53,018.94 | 58,991.52 | 11.26 |
| Indonesia | Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index | 6,911.58 | 6,805.28 | -1.54 |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 21,859.79 | 20,400.11 | -6.68 |
| Singapore | FTSE Straits Times Singapore | 3,102.21 | 3,258.90 | 5.05 |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur Composite Index | 1,444.22 | 1,422.59 | -1.50 |
| Philippines | PSEi Composite | 6,155.43 | 6,499.68 | 5.59 |
| Thailand | SET Index | 1,568.33 | 1,609.17 | 2.60 |
Taiwan shares end flat
Shares in Taiwan closed little changed Wednesday as artificial intelligence development related tech stocks continued to move lower as investors pocketed their recent gains, even after U.S.-based graphics designer Nvidia Corp. unveiled a new AI chip Tuesday, dealers said. Caution was seen as the main board moved closer to the nearest technical resistance ahead of 17,000 points, prompting many investors to stay on the sidelines throughout the session, dealers added. The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 6.13 points, or 0.04 percent, at 16,870.94 after moving between 16,798.50 and 16,956,73. Turnover totaled NT$328.1 billion (US$10.32 billion), compared with NT$370.27 billion seen on Tuesday.
London markets close in the green
London’s markets ended higher as investors were boosted by data which suggested the US had got a firm grip on its inflation problem. The FTSE 100 index ended 0.4 percent higher up to 7,616.38 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index climbed 0.3 percent to 18,986.76. The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.2 percent in the year to July, according to official statistics out on Thursday, up from 3.0 percent last month but marginally lower than market expectations. Month on month, prices increased 0.2 percent. Core inflation, which strips out more volatile components such food and energy prices, fell to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent last month. This came thanks to falling used car prices and airline fares. On a monthly basis, core inflation climbed 0.2 percent. US markets rose following the reading, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ all rising around 0.7 percent. The pound climbed 0.11 percent against the dollar to trade at $1.2731, with the dollar softening after the reading.
S&P 500 edges down ahead of Disney results
Wall Street stocks were modestly lower early Wednesday ahead of Disney results and inflation data that will be influential in upcoming Federal Reserve decisions. Analysts have pointed to low trading volumes this week, with many Wall Street desks empty in a lull period before September. But individual stocks are still fluctuating on new corporate earnings reports and markets will be closely watching Thursday’s consumer price index data. About 39 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 35,319.14. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 4,494.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.4 percent to 13,822.61.
Stocks lose gains after inflation data
Stocks pared earlier gains in afternoon trading Thursday, as investors digested the latest inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 24 points, or 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 was down 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent. The Dow was up 1.3 percent at its high in Thursday trading. If it closed lower, it would be the index’s largest blown gain since it blew a 1.3 percent gain on Oct. 20, 2022. The S&P was up 1.3 percent at its high, while the Nasdaq was up 1.6 percent. While consumer prices rose 3.2percent at an annual pace in July, an uptick from 3 percent in June, that was below economists’ expectations.