Shanghai Composite Falls Again – By Over 6%, Brent Crude Futures at 6-Month Intraday Low
August 18, 2015 6:21 am
Asian equity markets fell to a two-year low last night – the Shanghai Composite was the heaviest hit, dropping by over 6% - on concerns that slowing demand in China will weigh on the trade-reliant region. The Hang Seng dropped by 1.14%, while the Nikkei also closed lower, by -0.32%.
Yesterday’s US session saw both the Dow and S&P500 make gains despite some rather divergent economic results; The New York Fed’s Empire State General Business Conditions Index fell sharply from 3.86 in July to -14.92 in August, its lowest level since April 2009, with the slump attributed to sharp drops in new orders and shipments. However later in the trading day the report from the National Association of Home Builders showed U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose in August to its highest level in almost a decade. The Dow closed up by 0.39% while the S&P500 ended 0.52% higher.
The US Dollar held firm after strong U.S. housing data offset worries from a weak New York empire state manufacturing report. In China earlier today the PBOC set the Yuan’s midpoint near Monday’s closing price, however the Yuan edged lower by 0.2% to 6.4090 to the Dollar, raising some concerns that it could fall further. The Euro slid 0.2% to $1.1058 overnight, extending its losses while the Greenback traded at 124.47 against the Yen, pushed slightly higher after late U.S. trading levels.
Commodity prices continued to feel selling pressure from sustained worries about slower growth in the globes second largest economy, China. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to $48.55 per barrel falling closer to a six-month intraday low of $48.24. Copper futures fell 0.5% to $5,089.50 per tonne, edging closer to a six-year low of $5,062 set last week with the continued fears of a sharp slowdown in China.
Over in the UK equity markets House builder Persimmon posted a 31% rise in first-half pre-tax profit on the back of solid revenue growth, as well as strengthening operating profitability and an improvement in the company’s financial position. Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30th June came in at £272.8m from £208.9m in the first half of last year, on revenue of £1.33bn, up 11% from £1.20bn. Currently the shares are trading down by 1.6%.
Asian equity markets fell to a two-year low last night – the Shanghai Composite was the heaviest hit, dropping by over 6% - on concerns that slowing demand in China will weigh on the trade-reliant region. The Hang Seng dropped by 1.14%, while the Nikkei also closed lower, by -0.32%.
Yesterday’s US session saw both the Dow and S&P500 make gains despite some rather divergent economic results; The New York Fed’s Empire State General Business Conditions Index fell sharply from 3.86 in July to -14.92 in August, its lowest level since April 2009, with the slump attributed to sharp drops in new orders and shipments. However later in the trading day the report from the National Association of Home Builders showed U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose in August to its highest level in almost a decade. The Dow closed up by 0.39% while the S&P500 ended 0.52% higher.
The US Dollar held firm after strong U.S. housing data offset worries from a weak New York empire state manufacturing report. In China earlier today the PBOC set the Yuan’s midpoint near Monday’s closing price, however the Yuan edged lower by 0.2% to 6.4090 to the Dollar, raising some concerns that it could fall further. The Euro slid 0.2% to $1.1058 overnight, extending its losses while the Greenback traded at 124.47 against the Yen, pushed slightly higher after late U.S. trading levels.
Commodity prices continued to feel selling pressure from sustained worries about slower growth in the globes second largest economy, China. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to $48.55 per barrel falling closer to a six-month intraday low of $48.24. Copper futures fell 0.5% to $5,089.50 per tonne, edging closer to a six-year low of $5,062 set last week with the continued fears of a sharp slowdown in China.
Over in the UK equity markets House builder Persimmon posted a 31% rise in first-half pre-tax profit on the back of solid revenue growth, as well as strengthening operating profitability and an improvement in the company’s financial position. Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30th June came in at £272.8m from £208.9m in the first half of last year, on revenue of £1.33bn, up 11% from £1.20bn. Currently the shares are trading down by 1.6%.
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