MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.77%, and was set for a gain of 2.3% for the month
Asian stocks gained on Friday and were set for a strong end to August, while the dollar was staring at its worst monthly performance in nine months on the view that the Fed is all but certain to cut interest rates next month.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.77%, and was set for a gain of 2.3% for the month.
Taiwan’s benchmark index and South Korea’s KOSPI, both tech-heavy indexes, recovered from Thursday’s losses to trade 0.44% and 0.7% higher, respectively.
The volatility was further exacerbated by the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades in the wake of the BoJ’s unexpected rate hike, leading to a massive sell-off in global stocks on August 5 that was reminiscent of the October 1987’s “Black Monday”.
Japan’s Nikkei has since recovered from its early month collapse, though the index was still set to lose 1.6% for the month. It was last up 0.3% on Friday.
Data on Friday showed core consumer prices in Japan’s capital accelerated for a fourth consecutive month, keeping alive market expectations of further BoJ rate hikes in coming months.
Elsewhere, Chinese shares climbed on Friday from near seven-month lows, with property stocks in particular making solid gains.
The CSI 300 Real Estate index of shares soared more than 8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index was 7% higher.
Bloomberg News reported on Friday that China is considering allowing homeowners to refinance as much as $5.4 trillion in mortgages to lower borrowing costs for millions of families and boost consumption.
There hasn’t been much news over the past few weeks on the property front, so people are excited. I’m still sceptical that this will really encourage a lot of home buyers, according to Steven Leung, executive director of institutional sales at brokerage UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.
