Japanese shares were boosted by a weaker yen, while Chinese tech equities climbed on easing concerns about Beijing’s crackdown on internet platforms
Stocks in Asia jumped on Monday as Japan and Chinese technology shares rallied, while crude oil soared past $80 a barrel amid a global energy crunch.
Japanese shares were boosted by a weaker yen and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s comments that he isn’t considering capital-gains tax changes at present.
Chinese tech equities climbed nearly 3% on easing concerns about Beijing’s crackdown on internet platforms, after food delivery giant Meituan received a lower-than-expected antitrust fine.
U.S. futures and European contracts slumped as Wall Street declined Friday following disappointing jobs growth data that also showed a jump in earnings.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at the highest since 2014, while China’s coal futures hit a record as flooding shuttered mines. Treasury futures dropped, after the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield moved past 1.6% Friday.
Investors are braced for upcoming reports on Q3 company profits and monitoring risks from an energy crunch, debt concerns in China’s property sector and the prospect of reduced Fed bond purchases. In the U.K., Bank of England (BoE) officials moved to reinforce signals of an imminent rise in interest rates to curb inflation, boosting the pound.
We do have this environment where we have expectations for inflation rising and expectations for growth falling but I don’t think we are going to be in an environment where we see stagflation becoming entrenched, Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said on Bloomberg Television.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists cut their forecasts for U.S. growth this year and next, blaming a delayed recovery in consumer spending. The declines were mostly offset by upgrades to projections for the following two years.
