Borneo Bulletin Digital

15 / 32

Business 15
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020
DAILY STOCK INDICES AND SECURITIESMARKET NEWSWATCH
(05/08/20)
MAJOR STOCK INDICES
DJIA : 26,828.47 (+164.07)
S&P 500 : 3,306.51 (+11.90)
HSI : 25,102.54 (+155.91)
STI : 2,535.97 (+20.27)
KLSE : 1,568.13 (-7.81)
SHCOMP : 3,377.57 (+5.88)
REVIEW
US stocks rose across the board on Tuesday, building on the previous session’s
strong gains, as lawmakers tried to make inroads on a new coronavirus stimulus
package. Big Tech, which has led the major market indexes for much of the past
week, traded mixed on Tuesday. Apple, one of the best performers in the Dow
on Tuesday, ˜inished the session up 0.6 per cent. Net˜lix, meanwhile, gained 2.2
per cent. Losses from the so-called FAANG group came from Facebook, which
fell 0.85 per cent, and Alphabet, which slipped 0.6 per cent. Energy, real estate
and staples were the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, rising more than
1.3 per cent each. Those gains were partially offset by declines healthcare and
˜inancials, the only two S&P sectors that posted declines during the session.
Stocks in Asia-Paci ic were mixed on Wednesday as uncertainty remains
over the state of coronavirus relief stateside. Mainland Chinese stocks were
higher on the day. The Shanghai composite was up 0.17 per cent to around
3,377.57 while the Shenzhen component added 0.725 per cent to approximately
13,960.93. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.4 per cent, as of its ˜inal
hour of trading. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.4 per cent to close
at 2,311.86. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.26 per cent to close at 22,514.85
while the Topix index ˜inished its trading day slightly lower at 1,554.71. The
moves came after Japanese stocks saw two solid days of gains earlier this week.
Safe-haven gold scaled an all-time peak on Wednesday, extending a record run
above the USD2,000 mark on a weaker dollar and bets for more stimulus measures
to revive a pandemic-ravaged economy. Spot gold hit a record high of USD2,030.72
in early Asian trade around 0234 GMT, but later dipped to USD2,014.41, with
the slight retreat attributed to pro˜it-taking. US gold futures rose 0.7 per cent to
USD2,032.30.
For more information, please call us on 2268591/2.
Website:
Email:
Baiduri Capital Sdn Bhd is an entity wholly owned by 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
1.1838
105.63
1.3101
0.9100
0.7197
0.6651
1.3267
7.7503
1.3699
4.1950
31.00
14520
49.03
1,187.26
1.1842
105.66
1.3104
0.9104
0.7199
0.6655
1.3271
7.7506
1.3703
4.2000
31.01
14580
49.05
1,187.82
Overnight
1 week
1 mth
3 mth
6 mth
9 mth
12 mth
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.05
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.11
0.18
0.25
CRUDE AND GOLD PRICES
USD
Gold: 2,036.60 0.92
Brent: 44.99 0.56
DAILY INTERBANK FOREX &MONEYMARKET COMMENTARY
(05/08/20)
FX OUTLOOK
“The ongoing fall in US real yields is helping to lift the price of gold and weakening
the US dollar,” said Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG, adding that the bank
had lowered its forecasts for the dollar on the assumption that the Federal Reserve
will loosen policy further this year. Traders will be watching the euro zone Markit
Services ˜inal Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) at 0800 GMT, followed by retail
sales at 0900 GMT.
FX REVIEW
The US dollar remained weak on Wednesday as a US coronavirus relief package
stalled in Congress and US bond yields sank, with investors weighing prospects
of further monetary easing to support the economy. White House negotiators and
congressional Democrats are trying to reach a deal on a package by the end of
this week, ad Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that progress
had been made on key components of the bill.
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:
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Sweden’s
economy shrank 8.6 per cent in the
second quarter, the nation’s statis-
tics service said yesterday, even
though the country never imposed
strict coronavirus lockdowns seen
elsewhere in Europe.
According to ˜igures released
by Statistics Sweden, the downturn
represented the largest drop in
at least 40 years. “The downturn
in GDP is the largest for a single
quarter for the period of 1980 and
forward,” Statistics Sweden said of
the drop in economic activity from
the first quarter of the year.
The fall in gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP) compared to the sec-
ond quarter of 2019 came in at
8.2 per cent.
The ˜igures presented are pre-
liminary an update is expected on
August 28.
Though the dropwas signi˜icant,
analysts were largely expecting it.
“It is, as expected, a dramatic
downturn. But compared to other
countries it is considerably bet-
ter, for instance if you compare
to southern Europe,” Nordea bank
Chief Analyst Torbjorn Isaksson told
news agency TT.
The eurozone’s GDP tumbled
12.1 per cent in the second quarter,
dragged down by even steeper falls
in Spain, Italy and France where
lockdowns hit the tourism sectors
particularly hard.
Unlikemost countries in Europe,
Sweden never imposed a so-called
lockdown during the coronavirus
pandemic, largely keeping busi-
nesses operating. But as the coun-
try’s economy is dependent on
exports, the fallout from the global
downturn was nonetheless swift.
Swedish of˜icials insisted their
strategywas always aimed at public
health, and never speci˜ically at sav-
ing the economy.
When Sweden reported its GDP
figures for the first quarter of the
year, the impact of the COVID¨19
pandemic was not yet apparent
and the country reported growth of
0.1 per cent.
That means Sweden is not yet in
recession, which is technically de-
˜ined as two consecutive contrac-
tions in quarter-on-quarter GDP.
TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese carmaker
Honda yesterday reported a net
loss for the first-quarter and fore-
cast a much-reduced full-year
pro˜it as the coronavirus pandemic
hits sales and production.
For the April-June quarter,
the ˜irm posted a JPY80.87 bil-
lion net loss, against a JPY172.30
billion pro˜it in the same period
last year.
Sales plunged 46.9 per cent
on-year to JPY2.12 trillion, forcing
the automaker to record operating
losses of JPY113.69 billion.
Like other car ˜irms, Honda “was
forced to suspend production and
sales activities in many countries
throughout the first quarter”, Vice
President Seiji Kuraishi said in an
online news conference.
“In the four-wheel business, we
suspended production in 12 out of
17 countries as of the end of April,
but now we’ve resumed operation
in all production bases,” he said.
“We will swiftly move towards
getting our products into the
market from the second quarter,”
he said.
For the full-year to March 2021,
Honda said it would record a net
pro˜it of JPY165 billion, down 63.8
per cent from the previous year,
on sales of JPY12.8 trillion, which
would be down 14.3 per cent.
SEOUL (XINHUA) - South Korea’s
online shopping posted a double-
digit growth in June as people
refrained from outside activity
such as of˜line shopping amid
the lingering fear over the
COVID¨19 outbreak, statistical data
showed yesterday.
Shopping in the cyberspace
amounted to KRW12.67 trillion
in June, up 19.5 per cent from
a year earlier, according to
Statistics Korea.
It was the fastest increase
since February.
Worry remained over the
COVID¨19 pandemic, leading to
strong demand for online food
services that surged 61.5 per cent
in June from a year earlier.
Online purchase of food and
beverage jumped 39.4 per cent as
people preferred cooking at home.
The purchase of household items
in the cyberspace advanced 48.9
per cent in the month.
Amid the weakened outside
activity, online demand for culture
and leisure services tumbled
81.8 per cent, while the travel
and transport services demand
in the cyberspace plunged
57.8 per cent.
The mobile shopping, or
shopping using smartphones,
went up 22.8 per cent over the
year to KRW8.46 trillion in June. It
accounted for 66.8 per cent of the
total online shopping.
S Korea’s online shopping posts
double-digit growth in June
Honda posts Q1 net loss but
forecasts full-year profit
File photo shows people walking past a Honda car on display at Honda
Motor Co headquarters in Tokyo. PHOTO: AP
In the United States (US), even
though it suffered declining sales
in the first quarter, it is recover-
ing “at a pace faster than” the US
automobile market as a whole,
Kuraishi said.
Looking ahead, however, Honda
said it anticipates slower sales in
the US and Japan, he said.
In China, where the auto mar-
ket as a whole is rebounding
thanks to government stimulus
measures, the automaker aims to
sell more vehicles than last year,
he said.
The announcement comes a
week after rival Nissan warned of
a massive USD6.4 billion net loss
for the current ˜iscal year as it reels
from the pandemic.
Last week, US auto giant Gen-
eral Motors also reported a loss hit
by the pandemic but at a smaller-
than-expected scale thanks to
strong pricing for some newer
auto models.
Swedish GDP drops 8.6pc
despite no lockdowns