Asia-Pacific currencies mostly depreciate against the greenback
Asia-Pacific currencies mostly depreciated against the greenback on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump modified tariff rates on several countries.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.11% to 100.73 as of 10:40 a.m. Singapore time (10:40 p.m. ET Thursday).
The Japanese yen, which is traditionally viewed as a safe asset during times of tumult, was flat against the dollar at 150.75.
The Australian dollar was similarly largely unchanged against the greenback at 0.6427.
Meanwhile, China’s offshore yuan weakened by 0.11% against the dollar to 7.2083, after dropping to a near two-month low earlier in the session.
The Taiwanese dollar depreciated by 0.35% against the greenback to 30.01, as did the South Korean won which weakened by 0.53% to 1,399.50, its first time below the 1,400 mark in nearly three months.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Singapore dollar was largely unchanged against the greenback at 1.284, while the Thai baht weakened by 0.24% to 32.81.
The Philippine peso weakened by 0.49% to 58.494, while the Malaysian ringgit depreciated by 0.42% to 4.278.
— Amala Balakrishner
China’s manufacturing activity shrinks, Caixin PMI shows
China’s factory activity deteriorated in July as new business growth softened after manufacturers scaled back production due to uncertainties in the U.S.’ tariffs on Chinese exports, a private sector survey released Friday showed.
The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in the month before.
The metric fell below the 50-mark which separates an expansion from contraction and missed the 50.4 reading expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Economics Associate Director Jingyi Pan noted that “manufacturing production fell for only the second time since October 2023.”
“While successful business development efforts within the domestic market were able to sustain higher new work inflows, overall sales growth was only fractional as demand from overseas remained subdued on the back of global trade uncertainty,” she noted.
Pan added that companies had also cut their selling prices amid rising input costs.
— Amala Balakrishner
Chinese stocks fall in early trade
Stocks in Mainland China started the day lower Friday, amid declines in the other key Asia-Pacific markets.
The mainland’s CSI 300 was flat as of 10:02 a.m. local time (10:02 p.m. ET Thursday).
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index moved down 0.16%.
— Amala Balakrishner
South Korean stocks decline over 2%
South Korean stocks extended their decline for the second consecutive session on Friday, amid declines across Asia-Pacific markets as investors digested U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs.
As of 9:40 a.m. local time (8:40 p.m. ET Thursday), the Kospi index had plunged 2.3%.
KOSPI index
Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq index was last seen trading 2.8% lower.
Declines were broad-based across the technology, manufacturing, retail, financial and gaming sectors.
Among the index heavyweights, Samsung Electronics was last seen down 0.56%, while SK Hynix declined by 4.57%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Japan’s June jobless rate unchanged at 2.5%
Japan’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.5% in June, from the previous month, government data released Friday showed. This reading was in line with forecasts of economists polled by Reuters.
Meanwhile, there were 122 job openings for every 100 job seekers in June, lower than the 124 openings for every 100 job seekers in the previous month. This fell short of the 125 openings in Reuters’ median forecast.
Japan has experienced a tight labor market for over a decade, with the situation becoming more pronounced in recent years due to demographic challenges.
Asia-Pacific markets start the day lower
Asia-Pacific markets started the day lower Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.65%, while the broader Topix index was flat as of 8:15 a.m. Singapore time (8:15 p.m. ET Thursday).
In South Korea, the Kospi index dropped 1.73%, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined by 2.1%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark fell 0.94%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Here are the opening calls for the day
Good morning from Singapore and happy Friday.
Investors are assessing the U.S.’s latest tariff developments. They will also be keeping a watch on Japan’s jobs data for June and manufacturing data points for July from several countries in the region.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 40,785, while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 40,760, against the index’s Thursday close of 41,069.82.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 24,708 pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI’s last close of 24,773.33.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was set to start the day lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,632, compared with its last close of 8,742.80.
— Amala Balakrishner
U.S. stock futures slip as investors await jobs report
U.S. equity futures fell in early Asia hours Friday as investors digested the Big Tech earnings overnight and awaited the July jobs report.
Futures tied to the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.19%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.3% as of 7:58 a.m. Singapore time (7:58 p.m. Thursday ET). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat.
— Amala Balakrishner
Stocks close lower, S&P 500 slides for third straight session
Stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 posting its third consecutive losing session.
The broad market index slipped 0.37% to close at 6,339.39, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.03% to 21,122.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 330.30 points, or 0.74%, to finish the session at 44,130.98.
— Brian Evans
