Updated at 4 p.m.
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A wide range of issues attracted buybacks from the outset of Monday’s trading, with investors heartened by the dollar’s advance against the yen after Fed chief Janet Yellen and other senior officials of the US central bank hinted at the possibility of raising interest rates. That could help banks recover from a long slump by making lending more profitable.
The S&P 500 was up 10.4 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 2,179.44. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.39%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.03%.
In the past few months, the Fed has been swaying back and forth on whether to raise rates this year, keeping the dollar in check.
REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaThe dollar held firm on Tuesday, just below the previous day’s high as investors focused on the next set of USA data to see whether it supports expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates soon.
“I think today is going to be flat to down a little bit, simply because of yesterday’s strong move”, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial.
“The world is becoming increasingly inter-connected, particularly the capital markets of the world, so what we do affects many other countries”. Now, the market is losing momentum after the best first half in nearly 40 years.
Among top losers, Air Liquide, Carrefour, LafargeHolcim and Peugeot dropped over 1 percent each.
WALL STREET: U.S. shares fell Friday. Platinum was 0.7% lower at $1,062.99, while palladium was down 1.4% at $686.
A smart rebound in the stock market and sustained capital inflows, however, restricted the rupee loss.
South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.5 per cent to 22,788.02, while the Shanghai Composite lost almost 0.3 per cent to 3,062.52.
Oil prices fell, with benchmark Brent crude falling below $49 a barrel, pressured by high output from Middle East Opec members and as a stronger USA dollar weighed on commodities.
Brent crude was last down 74 cents, or 1.48 per cent, at $49.18 a barrel. The euro fell to $1.1206 from $1.1289. Employers are expected to show 180,000 job gains in August, according to a Reuters poll, below the better-than-expected 255,000 additions in July. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. It rose to 102.21 yen from 100.51 late last week in Asia.
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In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key September contract on the Nikkei average advanced 330 points to close at 16,730.
