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Business 12 THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020
DAILY STOCK INDICES AND SECURITIESMARKET NEWSWATCH
(03/06/20)
MAJOR STOCK INDICES
DJIA : 25,742.65 (+267.63)
S&P 500 : 3,080.82 (+25.09)
HSI : 24,325.62 (+329.68)
STI : 2,697.59 (+85.96)
KLSE : 1,583.53 (+30.84)
SHCOMP : 2,923.37 (+51.97)
REVIEW
US Stocks futures rose in early morning trading on Wednesday as Wall Street
continues to rally on optimism over economies emerging from coronavirus-led
shutdowns. Dow futures rose 129 points, implying a Wednesday opening gain of
about 116 points. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also up, pointing to
a positive start for the two indexes. On Tuesday, stocks rose as optimism around
reopening businesses overshadowed concerns about the global pandemic, US-
China trade tensions and nationwide protests. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
climbed 267 points, or 1.05 per cent. The S&P 500 also registered a gain, climbing
0.82 per cent. Stocks tied to the reopening of states outperformed. Citigroup,
Wells Fargo and Bank of America all rose at least 0.9 per cent. Gap climbed 7.7
per cent. Southwest gained 2.6 per cent. Mall and shopping centre operators saw
robust gains on Tuesday.
Stocks in Asia largely rose on Wednesday, with optimism over the reopening of
economies as authorities ease coronavirus-induced lockdown measures. Over
in South Korea, the Kospi led gains among the region’s major markets as it rose
2.87 per cent to close at 2,147, with shares of industry heavyweight Samsung
Electronics skyrocketing 6.03 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw decent gains
as it advanced 1.29 per cent to Ÿinish its trading day at 22,613.76. The Topix index
closed 0.72 per cent higher at 1,599.08. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose
1.22 per cent as of its Ÿinal hour of trading, with shares of Chinese tech juggernaut
Alibaba soaring 4.5 per cent. Stocks in mainland China closed little changed, with
the Shanghai composite fractionally higher at about 2,923.37 while the Shenzhen
component dipped slightly to around 11,108.36. Shares in Australia also saw gains,
with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.83 per cent on the day to 5,941.60.
Gold traded steady on Wednesday after snapping a three-session winning streak
in the previous day, as a rally in equity markets on hopes of more stimulus offset
some support from a weaker dollar. Spot gold was unchanged at USD1,727.65 per
ounce by 0259 GMT, after declining 0.7 per cent on Tuesday. US gold futures fell
0.1 per cent to USD1,732.20.
Disclaimer: All information is not intended as professional advice to users. All
investment products and services are not obligations of or guaranteed by Baiduri
Capital and are subject to investment risks.
For more information, please call us on 226 8825.
Website:
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Baiduri Capital Sdn Bhd is an entitywholly ownedby Baiduri Bank and is part of the Baiduri
Bank Group. Baiduri Capital offers a wide range of investment services as below:
• Equities Trading • Exchange Traded Fund • Bonds • Unit Trust
• Investment-linked Life Insurance Products
Published from Tuesday to Saturday
Published from Tuesday to Saturday
CCY BID OFFER TENOR SGD USD
EUR/USD
USD/JPY
GBP/USD
USD/CHF
AUD/USD
NZD/USD
USD/CAD
USD/HKD
USD/SGD
USD/MYR
USD/THB
USD/IDR
USD/PHP
USD/KRW
1.1215
108.71
1.2591
0.962
0.6897
0.6395
1.3507
7.7501
1.3974
4.2640
31.58
14050
31.58
1,216
1.1216
108.74
1.2592
0.9624
0.6899
0.6399
1.3511
7.7506
1.3976
4.2700
31.60
14140
49.85
1,216.52
Overnight
1 week
1 mth
3 mth
6 mth
9 mth
12 mth
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.00
0.02
0.10
0.05
0.00
0.03
0.20
0.25
0.25
0.33
CRUDE AND GOLD PRICES
USD
Gold: 1,717.09 - 0.58
Brent: 40.09 0.52
DAILY INTERBANK FOREX &MONEYMARKET COMMENTARY
(03/06/20)
FX OUTLOOK
ING analysts said in a note to clients, however, that the rally could be short-lived
as Brexit continues to be a “major headache for the pound.” “GBP has enjoyed
some temporary out-performance on reports of more Ÿlexibility in the UK Brexit
position, but we doubt GBP can hold onto gains,” they said.
FX REVIEW
Sterling hovered around USD1.26 on Wednesday after rising to a one-month
high against a broadly weaker dollar as Britain showed signs it might be willing
to compromise on sticking points to reach a Brexit deal. The US dollar fell
against most currencies as investors pondered what the potential fallout might
be from the mass protests against racism spreading across the United States.
And prospects for more government stimulus and a global economic recovery
emboldened investors to step up holdings of riskier assets. Sterling continued
to be supported by signs that Britain and the European Union might be able to
reach a compromise on Ÿisheries and trade rules as the two sides launched a
fourth round of Brexit virtual talks this week to try to secure a free trade deal.
All information provided is not intended as professional advice to users. This
daily commentary and opinion is subject to change without notice. For the latest
information, please call our Treasury Department on 226 8307.
Website: Email:
European jobless rate
up modestly, Germany
mulls stimulus
BERLIN (AP) - Europe’s unemployment rate ticked
up modestly last month, contained by use of labour
programmes that have kept millions of workers on
payrolls and as some people stopped looking for
work, ofŸicial data showed yesterday.
The jobless rate in the 19 countries that use the
euro rose to 7.3 per cent in April, the Ÿirst full month
when pandemic lockdowns hit the continent, from
7.1 per cent in March, statistics agency Eurostat
said yesterday.
Europe’s rise in unemployment has been moder-
ate by international standards because employers are
making extensive use of government-backed short-
time work programmes that allows them to keep em-
ployees on the payroll while they await better times.
In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, the fed-
eral labour agency pays at least 60 per cent of the
salary of employees who are on reduced or zero
hours. Some 10.66 million people were registered
for that programme in March and April, and 1.06 mil-
lion followed in May, the labour agency said - though
it stressed that this doesn’t mean all of them were
actually put on short-time work. Germany has a pop-
ulation of 83 million.
The European jobless Ÿigures also appear Ÿlat-
tered by the fact that some unemployed people like-
ly stopped looking for work and stopped counting
as jobseekers.
That seems to be the case in a country like Italy,
where the jobless rate actually fell, to 6.3 per cent
from eight per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. In
Germany, the unemployment rate rose modestly to
6.3 per cent from 5.8 per cent according to its own
labour agency measures.
Yesterday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s govern-
ing coalition was spending a second day hammer-
ing out a stimulus package meant to help kick-start
the economy. It’s expected to be worth as much as
EUR80©100 billion (USD89©112 billion).
Germany already is offering a total of more
than EUR1 trillion in aid via various packages,
which include money to tide small companies and
individual entrepreneurs through virus-related
closures and to pump capital into bigger compa-
nies where needed.
The crisis has derailed the government’s dedi-
cation to keeping its budget balanced, long a point
of pride. After six years in the black, it is borrowing
EUR156 billion to Ÿinance the existing rescue packag-
es and cover an expected shortfall in tax revenue.
Germany started loosening coronavirus restric-
tions on April 20, about a month after they were in-
troduced, and the easing has gathered pace since.
However, the economy went into a recession in the
Ÿirst quarter and that is expected to deepen in the
current quarter.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attend the weekly Cabinet
meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. PHOTO: AP
South Korea’s imported car sale posts
double-digit growth in May
SEOUL (XINHUA) - South Korea's imported car sale
posted a double-digit growth last month on the
back of strong demand for German luxury brands,
industry data showed yesterday.
The number of imported vehicles sold here
was 23,272 in May, up 19.1 per cent from a year
ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers
and Distributors Association (KAIDA).
German automaker Mercedes-Benz ranked
Ÿirst by selling 6,551 vehicles in May, up 7.5
per cent from a year earlier. It was followed
by German carmaker BMW that sold 4,907 ve-
hicles last month, up 45.0 per cent from a
year ago.
German carmakers Audi and Volkswagen came
next with 2,178 vehicles and 1,217 vehicles sold.
The sale of European and the United States
brands soared in double Ÿigures last month, but
the sale of Japanese cars tumbled 62.1 per cent as
the campaign continued here to boycott Japanese
products amid the ongoing trade spat between
South Korea and Japan.
The car sales here by Lexus, Toyota, Nissan and
Honda all dropped in double digits last month.