Tesla agreed to buy SolarCity for $2.6 billion in stock.
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FILE – In this October 2, 2014, file photo, the statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall faces the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. Shares were higher Monday in Asia, as investors shrugged off disappointing growth data from the US and lackluster but better-than-expected manufacturing figures for China.
“The headline figures overstates the size of the latest Japanese fiscal stimulus; the incremental rise in fiscal spending is close to market expectations, disappointing investors”, Stamenkovic said. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.8 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent. According to a report in the local Asahi newspaper on Tuesday (2 August), the decision is likely to upset China and South Korea as she is known for her “hawkish” views on the country’s wartime history.
Brent crude was off 1 percent at $41.72 a barrel, while USA crude fell 1.5 percent to $39.48. Hong Kong’s market was shuttered by a typhoon.
“The majority of economists surveyed expect the RBA to cut interest rates by 25 basis points but we feel that a rate cut is not a done deal”, wrote Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy for BK Asset Management.
ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “Of course, with rates already at a record low and household data high, monetary policy isn’t as powerful as before”, Paul Dales of Capital Economics said in an analysis of the Australian rate cut.
The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday afternoon approved a Yen28 trillion ($274 billion) stimulus package (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/details-of-abes-274-billion-japan-stimulus-package-emerge-as-cabinet-gives-its-ok-2016-08-02), which on paper ranks as one of the nation’s largest since the 2008 global financial crisis.
“The Reserve Bank have effectively thrown caution to the wind”, said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets.
The news comes after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) underwhelmed investors with modest tweaks to its own stimulus measures last Friday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 71 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $40.89 a barrel in NY while Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, gave up 75 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.78 a barrel in London.
U.S. stocks dipped in opening trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 0.1 percent. Britain’s Barclays PLC was down 3 percent while Germany’s Commerzbank slid 6.4 percent and Italy’s UniCredit fell another 5.1 percent. The Dow and S&P 500 set all-time highs recently and the Nasdaq is within 1 percent of the record it set in July 2015.
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US crude oil CLc1 edged up 0.3 percent to $40.18 a barrel, after shedding 3.7 percent on Monday, while Brent crude LCOc1 was 0.5 percent higher at $42.35 after closing down 3.2 percent. The price of oil has fallen 13 percent in a little more than two weeks and during the day it traded below $40 a barrel for the first time since April 8.
