Asian stock markets were lackluster Tuesday as investors continued to digest monetary policy signals from the Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers and looked ahead to data expected to show an improving U.S. economy. KEEPING SCORE: Tokyos Nikkei 225 was off 0.4 percent at 15,553.42 and Chinas Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent to 2,226.98. Hong Kongs Hang Seng was down 0.1 percent at 25,136.50. Seouls Kospi added 0.5 percent to 2,071.24 while Australias S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 5,632.40. DOLLAR BOOST: The U.S. dollar has risen against major currencies since Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellens speech to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming conference Friday was seized upon by traders as suggesting the Fed is inching toward interest rate hikes because of faster-than-expected improvement in employment. The dollars strength was reinforced by comments from Japanese and European central bankers which suggested their economies will remain on life-support for longer than the U.S. U.S. OUTLOOK: Investors looked ahead to Tuesdays data on durable goods orders, followed by economic growth on Thursday. Durable goods spending is expected to rise as much as 18 percent over the previous month, driven by a surge in aircraft sales by Boeing Co. That could help to shore up sentiment after new home sales fell 2.4 percent last month, suggesting a construction recovery was struggling. ANALYST TAKE: We expect this weeks U.S. growth numbers to be mixed but positive, said Jim OSullivan of High Frequency Economics in a report. UKRAINE TENSIONS: The presidents of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were due to meet Tuesday in Minsk, Belarus, in a possible step toward trying to reach a negotiated end to unrest in Ukraine. Tension over an insurgency by pro-Russian forces has roiled energy markets, which worried about the impact of possible Western sanctions on Russian oil exports. WALL STREET: The U.S. stock market notched another first on Monday after the Standard & Poors 500 nudged briefly past the 2,000-point mark and closed with its second record high in a week. The S&P 500 added 9.52 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,997.92. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.65 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,076.87. The Nasdaq composite gained 18.80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,557.35. ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude for October delivery was up 16 cents to $93.51 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract declined 30 cents on Monday to close at $93.35. CURRENCIES: Major currencies stabilized after losing ground to the dollar. The euro rose to $1.3204 from the previous sessions $1.3181. The dollar declined to 103.91 yen from Mondays close of 104.09 yen.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:50:31 +0000
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