The Guardian :
The accelerating rout in commodity prices has piled pressure on energy and resources shares in Asia Pacific amid more signs of slowing demand from China.
Although oil prices pushed back on Tuesday from seven-year lows, stock markets around the region felt the pain from uncertainty about global growth and the likely rise in US interest rates later this month.
America is pulling one way, China the other: will the global economy sink or swim?
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The Nikkei index in Japan was down almost 1% on Tuesday and the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices were down more 0.9% and 1.6% respectively. In resource-rich Australia, the ASX/S&P200 benchmark had a volaltile day but bears had the upper hand by the afternoon with the index off 0.91% at the close with the big oil and gas and mining companies bearing the brunt.
“Beyond the December hike, investors are concerned about the lack of Chinese demand which is acting as a millstone around the neck of risky assets and most investors will stay away until they see a clearer direction on rates,” said Cliff Tan, east Asian head of global markets at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Hong Kong.
Data showed on Tuesday that China’s exports fell by a more-than-expected 6.8% in November from a year earlier, their fifth straight month of decline. Imports fell 8.7%, which was not as much as expected but enough to signal continued weak demand from the world’s second biggest economy.
The accelerating rout in commodity prices has piled pressure on energy and resources shares in Asia Pacific amid more signs of slowing demand from China.
Although oil prices pushed back on Tuesday from seven-year lows, stock markets around the region felt the pain from uncertainty about global growth and the likely rise in US interest rates later this month.
America is pulling one way, China the other: will the global economy sink or swim?
Read more
The Nikkei index in Japan was down almost 1% on Tuesday and the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices were down more 0.9% and 1.6% respectively. In resource-rich Australia, the ASX/S&P200 benchmark had a volaltile day but bears had the upper hand by the afternoon with the index off 0.91% at the close with the big oil and gas and mining companies bearing the brunt.
“Beyond the December hike, investors are concerned about the lack of Chinese demand which is acting as a millstone around the neck of risky assets and most investors will stay away until they see a clearer direction on rates,” said Cliff Tan, east Asian head of global markets at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Hong Kong.
Data showed on Tuesday that China’s exports fell by a more-than-expected 6.8% in November from a year earlier, their fifth straight month of decline. Imports fell 8.7%, which was not as much as expected but enough to signal continued weak demand from the world’s second biggest economy.
