ASX futures were 47 points, or 0.7 per cent, higher to 6388 as of 8.00 on Tuesday, signaling a bounce at the open, after seven straight losses for the benchmark.
US stock and bond markets were closed for the first time on Monday for the Juneteenth public holiday. The S&P 500 last week suffered its largest percentage drop since the March 2020 rout driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, after the Fed’s move to raise interest rates by three-quarters of a point rattled investors. Futures on the benchmark index gained 0.4% on Monday.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index added 1%. Gains for retail, auto, and travel-and-leisure companies countered declines for construction and basic-resource stocks.
On the local market, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% to 6433.4 in late trade as commodity stocks drove the benchmark to its lowest reading since November 2020.
Miners, energy explorers, and power generators were drags on the ASX 200 as it settled in the red for a seventh session in a row, a streak not seen since March 1, 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was upending markets around the world.
“What is driving this story is concerns that there is going to be a global slowdown and we are already seeing that with the OECD and World Bank downgrading global GDP numbers,” said Chris Conway, lead fund manager at Marcus Today.
Lithium, gold, and iron ore miners all slipped, with Rio Tinto, BHP, and Fortescue all down between 5.1% and 8.6%.
The energy sector lost 5.2%, while power generators and retailers Origin and AGL dropped 3.7% and 1.1%, respectively.
SYDNEY: Australia’s competition watchdog said it was keeping a close watch on the country’s energy market for signs of manipulation as prices and demand soared.
Brent crude oil rose 0.9% to US$114.13 a barrel in commodity markets. Iron ore lost 8% to US$112.35. Gold was 0.01% higher at US$1840.70.
Bond markets were a touch higher on Monday, with Australian 2 Year government bond yields falling to 3.23% and 10 Year ending lower at 4.06%. US bond markets were closed for a public holiday.
The Australian dollar was 69.51 US cents, or 0.17 higher from 69.33 on the previous close. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the US dollar against 16 other currencies, fell to 97.14.
Asia
Chinese stocks ended the day mostly higher, with property, home-appliance makers, and construction-material companies offsetting losses by coal miners and oil majors. Sentiment on the real-estate sector was underpinned by the PBOC’s decision to keep key rates unchanged and indications of recovering contracted sales from May, analysts said. Seazen Holdings jumped 7.1%, Xinjiang Tianshan Cement gained 4.1%, and Midea Group rose 4.2%, while PetroChina fell 6.5% and China Shenhua dropped 4.7%. The Shanghai Composite Index finished flat at 3315.43, the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 1.3%, and the ChiNext Price Index up 2.0%.
Hong Kong shares finished higher, recovering from early losses on the back of property-sector gains, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index advancing 0.4% to 21163.91. Real-estate firms advanced after the People’s Bank of China left benchmark lending rates unchanged, meaning homebuyers won’t be burdened with higher mortgage payments amid increasing inflation that may drive sales, according to CGS-CIMB Securities analyst Raymond Cheng. Country Garden Services topped gains on the HSI, soaring more than 15%. China Overseas Land jumped 9.0%, China Resources Land advanced 8.4%, and Country Garden Holdings gained 7.2%. The Hang Seng Tech Index was up 0.1% to 4657.37.
The Nikkei Stock Average retreated 0.7% to 25771.22 after earlier advancing, reflecting concerns for some renewed market turbulence after the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday posted their worst weeks since 2020. Recessionary fears that washed over the US on Friday may continue to cast a pall over sentiment in Asia for the time being, Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley says in a note. Insurance stocks were down, with Dai-ichi Life Holdings losing 1.6%, Sompo Holdings 0.9%, and Tokio Marine 1.1%.
Europe
European stocks recorded gains amid ongoing optimism among investors, as the US markets were closed for a public holiday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 1%, Germany’s DAX rose 1.1%, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.6%.
“The FTSE 100 and other European markets have edged higher this afternoon, making the most of a US holiday,” IG analyst Chris Beauchamp says in a note. “US mega-cap stocks are out of the market for the day, at least removing the risk of a fresh wave of selling in tech names for a few hours.
London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.5% Monday, capitalizing on a US public holiday. Banks made some good headway "off the back of hawkish comments from Bank of England MPC member Catherine Mann, which saw UK yields spike higher and 2-year yields hit their highest levels since December 2008," Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets, said in a note.
Oil companies elsewhere saw a slight upturn after Friday’s losses. The biggest gainers of the day were International Consolidated Airlines Group, which gained 7.2%, ITV, which rose 6.6%, and HSBC, which added 5.7%. Intermediate Capital Group, Persimmon, and Berkeley Group Holdings were the worst performers of the day, down 4.8%, 4.5%, and 4.1%, respectively.
North America
US markets also remained closed for the Juneteenth public holiday.
