On Monday, markets suffered a dramatic 7% loss and trade was halted early. Most Asian stock markets inched higher Tuesday as China’s benchmark stabilized a day after plunging almost 7 percent.
Advertisement
Despite a cash injection of around $20-billion (U.S.), Chinese shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzen ended no better than little changed on Tuesday and the yuan fell to a new 4-1/2-year low in offshore trade.
Although China’s disappointing manufacturing PMI data was held up as one reason for Monday’s scares, worries about Friday’s expiration of a six-month ban on selling for large investors played a large part in Monday’s 7% fall.
Mainland Chinese shares recovered early losses amid volatile swings, following Monday’s suspension of trading which led to a global equities sell-off.
In the nondeliverable forward markets (NDFs) the yuan is trading around 6.87 to the dollar, much weaker than its spot rate around 6.52 and approaching seven-year lows.
OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX was down 0.1 percent while France’s CAC-40 edged up 0.1 percent.
The near-$20bn of reverse repurchase agreements appeared to ease Chinese liquidity concerns and offered enough comfort for equity investors in Europe to begin the session on the front foot, after Monday’s steep losses exacerbated by the geopolitical tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,016.
“Oil markets will be concerned that this could be an incremental step in a deteriorating political situation that might ultimately threaten world oil supply”, Ric Spooner, chief analyst at CMC Markets, said in a commentary.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.6 percent to 1,930.53 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.7 percent to 21,188.72. Stocks in Australia, Taiwan and Southeast Asia were also lower.
The price of oil fell 1 percent to $36 a barrel in NY. Wall Street opened sharply lower on Tuesday after weak data from China heightened fears of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy and its effect on global growth. The euro rose slightly to $1.0828 from $1.0826.
Investors read it as a sign that China’s economy might be slowing down faster than previously thought. Brent crude, the worldwide standard, fell 79 cents, or 2 percent, to $36.41 a barrel in London.
In currencies, the dollar slipped to 119.09 yen from 119.43 yen on Monday.
Advertisement
China’s threshold for trading halts looks “quite tight” versus circuit breakers in other markets, according to Deutsche Bank strategist Yuliang Chang.
