Global Markets Get Off to a Slow Start -- Update
December 11 2017 - 10:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Gregor Stuart Hunter
Asia-Pacific equities got off to a slow start Tuesday, even as
higher oil prices pushed up shares of energy producers and other
commodity stocks.
The global Brent oil benchmark rose above $65 a barrel for the
first time since June 2015 following news that a major European
pipeline--used in calculating prices for Brent--will shut
temporarily after a fracture was found.
February Brent futures, which climbed 2% Monday, rose another
0.8% in Asian trading to $65.22.
That helped Australia's S&P/ASX 200 to rise, though less
than 0.1%, with the energy sector climbing 0.9%. Meanwhile, a gauge
of Chinese energy producers listed in Hong Kong rose 0.7%. The Hang
Seng Index was also up less than 0.1%.
The Nikkei Stock Average ended the morning session up slightly,
with oil producer Inpex jumping 2.7%.
The U.S. dollar edged back against the yen to Yen113.45 from
Yen113.55.
Elsewhere, New Zealand's benchmark eased 0.3% after logging its
42nd record closing high of 2017. Korea's Kospi fell 0.4%, though
Samsung Electronics was higher.
Chinese stocks retreated a bit, even after credit data released
Monday showed bank lending increased more than expected in
November, as some money left the shadow-banking sector.
The lending data showed that global investors' recent worries
about a sharp slowdown in Chinese growth may have been premature,
said Andy Rothman, investment strategist at fund manager Matthews
Asia.
"One of the reasons people were getting nervous about the
Chinese equities market is that they think that the selloff is
induced by people who fear the government efforts to de-risk the
financial sector is going to result in a significant credit
tightening," he noted. "But there's no evidence of that happening
yet. People are getting worked up about nothing here."
Meanwhile, market participants are awaiting cues from global
central banks. The Federal Reserve's two-day meeting starts later
Tuesday. On Wednesday, a quarter-point rate increase is expected to
be announced. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England
also meet this week.
Bitcoin prices slipped after Securities and Exchange Commission
Chairman Jay Clayton warned about the risks to retail investors in
the red-hot cryptocurrency. Prices were recently around $16,650,
according to CoinDesk, after nearing $17,400 in late New York
trading.
Write to Gregor Stuart Hunter at gregor.hunter@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 11, 2017 22:32 ET (03:32 GMT)
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