市场消息

Bloomberg.com — Stocks

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent as of 3:05 p.m. Tokyo time.
• Topix index rose less than 0.05 percent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.2 percent.
• Kospi index fell 0.2 percent.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.5 percent.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
• The Japanese yen rose 0.2 percent to 110.40 per dollar.
• The euro rose less than 0.05 percent to $1.1663.
• The offshore yuan gained 0.4 percent to 6.6404 per dollar.

Bonds

• Australia’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to 2.587 percent, the lowest in more than six months.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3 percent to $74.38 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,257.38 an ounce.
• LME copper gained 0.7 percent to $6,535 per metric ton.

Investing.com – According to a report on Tuesday, the index of business activity (PMI) in the UK construction sector in June rose to a maximum in seven months.

The company Markit reported that the index of business activity in the construction sector of the UK increased in June to 53.1.

Analysts had expected that this figure will remain stable at the position of 52.5.

If the value of the PMI index is higher than 50.0, it means economic growth, if lower – a decline.

IHS Markit underscored the fact that the construction sector in the UK shows the greatest growth in business activity. At the same time, the growth rate of the number of new orders was the highest since May 2017.

In June, inflation of prices for building materials also increased. […]

Bloomberg.com — Stocks in Asia extended declines and the yuan slumped once again amid debate surrounding the impact of an escalating trade war and fear of contagion to emerging markets. Treasury yields dipped and the dollar steadied.

Shares in Tokyo reversed earlier gains after China’s currency tumbled past 6.7 per dollar, a level that some had thought would trigger intervention from authorities. The yuan indeed showed a sudden comeback mid-morning, before dropping again. Hong Kong’s stocks tumbled in a catch-up after the city was off on holiday Monday while shares in Shanghai pared losses as the session progressed. Australian stocks stood out, as they have repeatedly in recent weeks, as outperformers in the region. Equity futures signaled losses in Asia won’t extend into the U.S. and the U.K.

With U.S. trading desks thinly staffed ahead of the July 4 holiday, volume in American stocks was about 20 percent below average when the S&P 500 Index edged up. An expansion in U.S. manufacturing gave some comfort to concern borne out of reports in Japan, China and South Korea over the past few days about a weakening in global economic growth. The Trump administration’s planned imposition of tariffs against China will start on Friday.

Elsewhere, crude rose after declines Monday triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to ramp up oil output.

Bloomberg.com — Australia left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low Tuesday as the currency’s recent decline aids the economy by offering exporters some insulation against global trade ructions.

Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe kept the cash rate at 1.5 percent, as expected by all economists and where it’s stood since August 2016. The Australian dollar this week dropped to its lowest level in more than a year, driven by increasing anxiety that a trade war could send shock waves through commodity markets that the nation depends upon. […]

Bloomberg.com — U.K. manufacturing growth held steady in June, providing some modestly good news at the end of the worst quarter for the sector since the end of 2016.

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers Index for the industry stood at 54.4 in June, up from a revised 54.3 in May and beating economists’ estimates for a drop. The average reading for the second quarter as a whole was 54.2.

The survey showed business optimism dropped to a seven-month low last month, amid concerns about possible trade tariffs, the exchange rate and Brexit. Firms also flagged an increase in input costs and raw material shortages, which may jeopardize growth further. The pound stayed weaker after the release Monday, trading 0.3 percent lower at $1.3173 as of 9:56 a.m. London time.

“With industry potentially stuck in the doldrums, the U.K. economy will need to look to other sectors if GDP growth is to match expectations in the latter half of the year,” said Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit.

The quarterly average suggests that U.K. growth may not see a significant bounce-back from the first quarter, when the economy expanded at a sluggish 0.2 percent. Such an outcome would complicate the case for Bank of England policy makers, who say that more interest-rate hikes are needed to control inflation.

Officials voted 6-3 to hold rates last month, with most content to see how data evolved before increasing borrowing costs again. Investors, who are currently pricing in about a 65 percent chance of a BOE increase in August, will get more information on the health of the economy later this week, when Markit publishes similar indexes for the U.K.’s construction and dominant services sector.

July’s readings will then be released in the week of the BOE’s decision.

Bloomberg.com —

• Shanghai Composite slumps 2.7% as property developers tumble
• ING predicts the yuan will weaken to decade-low by end of year

Chinese stocks took another battering on Monday as selling resumed amid concern about a falling currency, housing curbs and the impact of trade tariffs.

The Shanghai Composite Index sank 2.7 percent as of 2:31 p.m. local time, more than wiping out a 2.2 percent rally on Friday, and extending last month’s 8 percent rout. The yuan retreated 0.4 percent to a seven-month low after depreciating by a record in June. The pace of the currency’s descent has surprised analysts, with ING Groep NV cutting its forecast for the second time in days. […]

Bloomberg.com — Stocks resumed losses in Asia on Monday after capping their worst quarter since 2015 last month, as investors sift through softening economic data even before U.S. tariff hikes on Chinese imports that could damp export demand across the region.

S&P 500 Index futures slumped and equity benchmarks fell at least 2 percent in Japan, China and South Korea. The yuan fell, extending its sharpest drop since China’s August 2015 devaluation, joining most major Asian currencies in declining Monday. The euro came under pressure following deepening tensions in Germany’s coalition government. Oil slid below $74 a barrel in New York after U.S. President Donald Trump called for higher production.

Mexico’s peso reversed gains that were spurred by a no-surprise result in the country’s presidential elections. Investors now await populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s economic program after his landslide win.

Trade-war jitters, political risk in Europe and divergence in monetary policy across the world remain some of the key themes investors are grappling with following the end of the first half. In China, weaker-than-expected manufacturing data for June added to concern that the country’s growth is softening, while in Japan confidence among large manufacturers slipped during the second quarter.

The data “led to concerns over potential impact of trade disputes over business sentiment, which led to profit taking activities in Nikkei and Shanghai today,” Margaret Yang, a Singapore-based analyst at CMC Markets Singapore Pte., said by email.

This Friday’s payrolls report in the U.S. and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting could influence expectations for two more interest-rate increases this year.

Elsewhere, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party said Sunday it will pursue migrant pacts with its partners amid reports the German interior minister has resigned. Stances on Germany’s defense against migration is escalating a political crisis that could leave her without a parliamentary majority.

President Trump piled more pressure on OPEC over the weekend, demanding the cartel stop what he called its manipulation of the oil market and insisting the group pump more.

Bloomberg.com — The U.K. construction industry fared far better than previously thought during a snow-blighted first quarter, giving an unexpected boost to the economy.

Building output fell 0.8 percent from the fourth quarter instead of the 2.7 percent drop estimated last month, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Overall economic growth was revised to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent. Separate figures showed the current-account deficit narrowing.

The GDP revision may fuel expectations that the Bank of England will raise its benchmark interest rate this year, with anecdotal evidence suggesting activity rebounded this quarter.

Speculation intensified this month after BOE Chief Economist Andy Haldane joined a minority of policy makers pushing for an immediate rate increase. In a speech on Thursday, Haldane cited cost pressures building in the labor market and an underlying picture of “gently rising household spending.’’

The latest GDP data incorporates annual Blue Book revisions. The upward revision to construction was partly offset by downward revisions to manufacturing and industrial production.

The BOE expects growth to be eventually revised up to 0.3 percent and sees GDP expanding 0.4 percent in the current quarter, above the economy’s so-called speed limit.

Services, the largest part of the economy, made a promising start to the second quarter, growing 0.3 percent in April.

But consumers remained under pressure in the first quarter, helping to explain the plight of retailers including high street bellwether John Lewis that already struggling against online rivals.

Real disposable incomes per head rose just 0.2 percent and households saved 4.1 percent of their incomes, the least for a year. Households have been borrowers for six consecutive quarters, the longest streak on record, as rising prices squeeze domestic budgets.

Overall consumer spending rose 0.2 percent, the weakest since the end of 2016. Business investment fell 0.4 percent, more than previously estimated, suggesting Brexit uncertainty is prompting firms to delay spending decisions. Net trade made a modest 0.1 percentage point contribution to growth.

In a separate report, the ONS said the current-account deficit, the gap between money leaving the U.K. and money coming in, narrowed to 17.7 billion pounds between January and March. That left the shortfall at 3.4 percent of GDP, the lowest for a year.

The figures may help allay concerns about the willingness of foreign investors to fund the deficit by buying British assets as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union.

The improvement came as the trade deficit narrowed and the deficit on investment income declined.

Bloomberg.com — Asian stocks climbed for the first day this week as Chinese shares recouped some recent losses, bringing an end to what’s been the worst quarter in nearly three years amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. The euro jumped Friday as leaders reached a deal on migration.

Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai led the advance after their recent battering, while South Korean equities rose and those in in Japan recovered declines. A gauge of emerging-market stocks rebounded from the lowest level in 10 months. The offshore yuan rose, halting a 11-day decline that was triggered by concern about Chinese policy makers’ intentions. The euro was up about half a percent against the dollar as an agreement on a package of measures to stem the flow of migrants averts a standoff between Italy and the rest of the region.

The historically rapid drop in the yuan has heightened fears in some quarters of a devaluation in response to the U.S.’s protectionist trade moves against China. Chinese officials are seen stepping in and slowing the decline in its currency should it fall toward 6.7 per dollar in the onshore market as breaking through that key psychological level may risk worsening sentiment in the country’s beaten down financial markets. The yuan has fallen almost 2 percent this week while about $2 trillion in value has been wiped from the nation’s stock market since its January peak.