Asian stocks are largely flat, Japan is hurt by Sino-American tensions
© Reuters. MOVIE PHOTO – Passersby reflected on a stock exchange listing outside a Tokyo brokerage By Hideyuki Sano and Vidya Ranganathan
TOKYO / SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian stock markets, including China's, were little changed on Monday, and withdrew news the US administration is considering delisting Chinese companies from US exchanges.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan () was flat, while China's Shanghai stock index () slipped 0.1[ads1]%, barely meeting some of the concerns surrounding recent Sino-US tensions caused by the Nasdaq index () to fall more than 1% on Friday.
European stocks were seen as struggling when they opened for trading. Pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 futures () were down 0.11%, German DAX futures () down 0.08% and futures () 0.16% lower.
Risk weights hit US trade on Friday after news Trump administration is considering radical new economic pressure tactics on Beijing, including the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from US exchanges.
The report knocked Chinese stocks listed on US stock exchanges, Alibaba Group Holding (N 🙂 fell 5.15% and JD.com (O 🙂 5.95% on Friday.
Concerning such an escalation will hurt Japan the most weighed on Nikkei (), which shed 0.9%. U.S. Chinese stock markets will only trade on Monday this week ahead of the country's national holiday, which runs until October 7.
There were mixed signals from China's production surveys on Monday that showed sustained export weakness and surprising improvement in domestic consumption indicators and a Chinese central bank statement that briefly suggested plans for more stimulating policies.
China's yuan
Delisting Chinese companies from US exchanges was part of a broader effort to limit US investment in Chinese companies, two sources told the Reuters case.
A US prime minister said the US is not planning to stop Chinese companies from listing on US stock exchanges at this time, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
"While China has a current account surplus and is a net credit nation, Chinese companies are net debtors and rely on foreign capital," Koji Fukaya, President of Office Fukaya Consulting.
"Washington seems to be trying to limit the activities of Chinese companies by putting pressure on funding," he said.
Continued with trade talks between the United States and China believed to be held October 10-11, many market participants hope that such drastic measures in the capital markets will be avoided.
"At this point, the markets have to wait and see. Of course we have to watch out for more crazy headlines, but this week may be a little quieter given the holidays in China. Economic data will probably be the main driver of markets," said Kyosuke Suzuki , Director of Forex at Societe Generale (PA :).
US data on Friday showed that consumer spending barely increased in August and business investment remained weak, suggesting that the US economy was losing momentum as the trade conflict dragged on.
Industrial production in Japan and South Korea, which was released on Monday morning, fell more than expected, emphasizing headwinds from the trade war.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on American politics.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the opinion is now on the side of an investigation into Trump following the release of new information about his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Major currencies changed little, with yen trading a little firmer at 107.75 yen
The euro hovered around $ 1.0932 (), and had lowered to a 28-month low of $ 1.0904 on Friday as worries about lukewarm growth in Europe weighed the single currency.
Sterling traded at $ 1.23
Boris Johnson further said Sunday he would not quit as UK prime minister, although he could not secure an agreement to leave the EU, insisting that only his Conservative government could deliver Brexit on October 31.
Oil prices dipped, but stayed away from last week's lows.
19659004] Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince warned in an interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes" on Sunday that crude prices could spike to "unimaginably high numbers" if the world does not come together to deter Iran.
But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he would prefer a political solution to a military one, and the Sept. 14 attacks on the kingdom's oil plant were an act of war from Iran.
Futures for Brent Crude Oil () fell 0.36% to $ 61.64 barrels, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) cr out () fell 0.14% to $ 55.83 per barrel.
(This story corrects the heading and first paragraph of Asia stocks & # 39; mostly flat & # 39; (not & # 39; lower edge & # 39;) and the 2nd paragraph MSCI Asia-ex-Japan index to flat (not down 0.55%)
