Japan’s Topix index
fell for a third day as investors await further developments from China
after two days of yuan devaluations triggered a sell-off in global stock
markets.
The Topix lost 0.2
percent to 1,661.79 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, after falling the most in a
month on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent to
20,429.71. The yen strengthened for a third day against the yuan in
offshore trading ahead of Thursday’s setting of the Chinese currency’s
reference rate. The yen also rose against the dollar on Wednesday.
The Chinese currency’s
devaluation has roiled markets for two days, with European stocks
dropping on Wednesday by the most since October, on concern the slowdown
in Asia’s largest economy could be worse than previously thought. U.S.
stocks reversed losses late Wednesday as a weaker dollar spurred a
rebound in commodity prices.
China’s decision to
devalue the yuan and shift to a more market-determined reference rate
sparked concern the move would sap inflation globally, throwing the
outlook for higher U.S. interest rates into question and causing a
selloff in the dollar. The odds of a September interest-rate hike by the
Federal Reserve fell to about 42 percent, from 54 percent as recently
as Aug. 7, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Futures on the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.1 percent after the underlying
measure erased a 1.5 percent decline to close 0.1 percent higher on
Wednesday in New York. Commodity-related stocks led gains after the
greenback’s retreat ignited a rebound in prices for some raw materials.
Japanese machine
orders rose 16.6 percent from a year earlier in June, less than the 17.6
percent gain estimated by economists, a government report showed
Thursday.
Source: Bloomberg
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