In the space of a single day, 28 February, Vladimir Putin’s “Fortress Russia” collapsed. The rouble plunged by about 30 percent, and Russian authorities closed all financial markets. Russians raced to ATM machines to withdraw as much money as they could, desperate to exchange it for anything that wasn’t the rouble.
Most Asian equities fell as traders await US and European central bank meetings this week for further clues on the 2018 policy outlook. The dollar was steady and oil extended gains above $58 a barrel.The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated from a 26-year high, and Hong Kong and Chinese shares slipped, after US stock indexes hit fresh highs overnight. Most major American gauges advanced, led by more than 1 percent increases in media, telephone and technology-hardware shares.
Asian stocks were poised to rise following a broad-based rally in US equities and as a weaker yen looked set to buoy Japanese shares. The pound jumped on speculation that Ireland and Britain were close to a Brexit deal.Futures for stock markets in Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong climbed. The S&P 500 Index ended a four-day losing streak, with industrial and consumer discretionary shares among the best performers.
Asian stocks are poised for the longest losing streak in two years as the technology, mining, consumer and industrial sectors led declines. Japan equities fell sharply, as did Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index. The Australian dollar and bond yields tumbled as traders dialed back expectations for higher interest rates after growth missed estimates.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is set to fall for eight days, making it the longest run of losses since 2015.
Indonesia’s stock exchange is having trouble luring retail investors. Their solution? Target the millennials.While the participation of individual investors in Indonesia is low compared with other Asian countries, those aged between 21 and 30 account for 26 percent, the biggest share of any age group, according to data from Indonesia Central Securities Deposit.
Hong Kong is eroding Singapore’s home advantage. 14 companies based in the Southeast Asian city have chosen to list on their home stock market this year, compared with 13 on the bourse operated by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.It’s not all bad news for the Lion City: Singapore Exchange Ltd. beats HKEX in funds raised from the initial public offerings.
Singapore Exchange’s chief executive officer said his company is still in the running to win a listing of the shares of oil giant Aramco, in what could be the world’s biggest initial public offering.“We’re as good as any other exchange,” Loh Boon Chye said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Singapore’s second-largest lender has decided that the best place to expand its research is the country’s rival market Hong Kong.Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. plans to add coverage of 60 Hong Kong-listed stocks, with 14 to 20 started by year-end, according to Carmen Lee, its head of research.
