EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were lower in Wednesday trade, as concerns of contagion in China’s ailing property sector have flared again. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.02%, while the Shanghai composite in mainland fell around 1.20%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan dipped 0.43%, the South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.80%, and the Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15%.
The S&P BSE Sensex in India declined 0.70%, while in Southeast Asia, the Singapore’s Straits Times index at 0.58% lower.
World stock indexes slid overnight, bringing a multi-day rally of record closing highs to a close as profit-taking and worries over ongoing inflation fuelled a broad selloff. In Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 112.24 points to 36,319.98, the S&P 500 shed 0.35% to 4,685.25, and Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6% to 15,886.54.
OIL
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending strong gains in the previous session, after API data showed U.S. crude stocks declined by 2.5 million barrels for the week to Nov. 5, defying expectation for a 2.1 million build. The market will be awaiting weekly inventory data from the U.S. EIA later today to see whether it confirms the drawdown in crude stocks.
The Brent now traded at $85.22 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $84.31 per barrel.
Overnight, the Brent ends at $84.72 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $84.15 per barrel. Oil prices rallied to a two-week high on Tuesday as the passage of the U.S. infrastructure bill and China's export growth supported the outlook for energy demand, as well as supported following Saudi Arabia's state-owned producer, Aramco, that raised the official selling price for its crude.
CURRENCIES
The dollar held a three-day loss against major peers. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals at 94.028, steadying after retreating gradually from a more than one-year peak at 94.634 reached Friday.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was at 1.466%, lifted off a six-week low of 1.415% overnight.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin changing hands around $66,384, hovering below its all-time high marked on Tuesday. Ether traded at $4,687, also keeping close to Tuesday’s record peak.
GOLD
Gold prices slipped from a more than two-month peak on Wednesday, as an uptick in the dollar hurt the bullion’s appeal. Spot gold slipped 0.30% to $1,826.40 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures fell 0.12% to $1,828.60.
Spot silver rose 0.36% to $24.40 per ounce, and palladium jumped 0.90% to $2,040.00. Platinum meanwhile dropped 0.46% to $1,056.50.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian stock markets were lower on Wednesday as surges in oil and Chinese factory prices added to worries that a hot U.S. inflation reading could renew pressure on policymakers to lift interest rates. Concerns of contagion in China’s ailing property sector also flared again, with Evergrande facing a deadline Wednesday to pay an offshore bond.
Factory gate prices in China have soared 13.5% year-on-year to October, according to official data, beating forecasts and warning of pressure heading down supply chains to global consumers. The CPI for October, however, came in roughly in line with expectations, rose 1.5% from last year.
Market analysts now awaited Wednesday's U.S. CPI data. A stronger-than-expected reading would rekindle talk of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates sooner than expected. U.S. PPI data on Tuesday showed it increased solidly in October
Concerns also mounted about a deepening liquidity crisis in the Chinese property sector. China Evergrande Group is due for a deadline to make an offshore bond coupon payment on Wednesday. Another overdue $148 million bond payment must be made on Wednesday, and it has coupon payments totalling more than $255 million on its June 2023 and 2025 bonds on Dec. 28.
More earnings reports are scheduled on Wednesday, including Tencent Holdings, Walt Disney, Allianz, Wendy's, adidas, and Opendoor Technologies.
