SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – A person jogging passes the Sydney Opera House as the rising sun reflects off buildings in the central business district (CBD) on September 28, 2021 in Sydney, Australia.
David Gray | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are mixed on Tuesday with a vote looming ahead on the tentative U.S. debt ceiling deal reached between President Joe Biden and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy over the weekend, avoiding a default for the U.S. economy.
The U.S. Congress is set to vote on the legislation as early as Wednesday. Lawmakers have not signaled that they intended to return to Capitol Hill early to work on the deal. Both Republican and Democratic support is needed for the bill agreement to pass.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 0.31% lower and the Topix slid 0.58%, as the country saw its unemployment rate come down slightly to 2.6% in April from 2.8% in March.
South Korea’s Kospi returned from a public holiday and climbed 0.92%, while the Kosdaq saw a gain of 0.4%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was trading close to the flatline.
Hong Kong stocks snapped a four day losing streak as the Hang Seng Index opened 0.48% up, while the Hang Seng Tech Index saw a stronger rebound and rose 1.06%.
Mainland Chinese markets were also mixed on Tuesday, with Shanghai Composite falling 0.21% and the Shenzhen Component up by 0.1%.
Softbank shares slide almost 4%, leads losses on Topix
Shares of Softbank Group tumbled almost 4% on Tuesday, leading losses on the Japan’s Topix index.
This comes after Softbank owned chip designer Arm announced it rolled out new technology for mobile devices and Taiwan smartphone chip maker MediaTek Inc said it will be using it for its next-generation product.
Shares of Softbank surged 8.8% on Monday.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japan’s unemployment rate eases to 2.6% in April
Japan’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 2.6% in April, lower than March’s figure of 2.8%.
This was also lower than the 2.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Government data showed that the jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 1.32, unchanged from March’s figure.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Parts of the market are getting pricey. But analysts like these 4 cheap stocks
Markets have rallied this year despite economic uncertainty in the United States.
Some parts of the markets are expensive right now, but analysts say some sectors are still cheap.
They name four stocks that are still cheap to buy, including one in tech.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
CNBC Pro: Nvidia and A.I. are hot — and BofA says these 3 global stocks are also worth the buzz
Nvidia’s earnings blockbuster has gotten investors excited.
In a May 25 note, BofA said Nvidia’s “rosy outlook” when it comes to data centers and artificial intelligence has reaffirmed its positive view on the AI server hardware supply chain.
It named three global stocks to play the Nvidia and AI buzz.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Biden, Congressional leaders iron out debt ceiling agreement set for a vote this week
President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders reached an initial agreement on over the weekend to avoid a U.S. default, with the bill set for a vote as soon as this week.
House Majority Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden had been at odds for weeks over raising the debt ceiling, with the first inklings of real progress coming last week. Key provisions that necessitated compromise included keeping non-defense spending flat for the next two years as well as increasing work requirements of food stamp benefits.
Still, the bill will need both Republican and Democratic support to make it to President Biden’s desk before the so-called “X date” on June 5, which is the earliest time the Treasury Department has signaled the U.S. could default.
— Brian Evans
Week ahead: China PMI readings; Bank of Thailand meeting, South Korea GDP
China’s purchasing managers’ index readings for May alongside the Bank of Thailand’s meeting and South Korea’s inflation and gross domestic product reports will be in focus this week.
On Monday, Hong Kong’s trade data for April will be published after the region saw a contraction of 0.6% in imports and a contraction of 1.5% in exports in March.
Japan’s unemployment rate for April will be released as well as Australia’s building approvals for the same month on Tuesday. Thailand’s industrial production for April will also be released.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics will publish the economy’s purchasing managers index for May. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect the reading to remain under the 50-mark that separates contraction and growth at 49.4, after April’s reading of 49.2.
The Bank of Thailand is set to announce its rate decision on the same day.
South Korea’s industrial production for April on Wednesday is expected to show a further decline of 7.9% in April, according to economists surveyed by Reuters.
Retail sales for South Korea and Japan are also scheduled to be released on the same day. India will release its gross domestic product for the third quarter of the year. South Korea will also publish its latest trade figures alongside Australia’s retail sales.
Indonesia markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday, while Singapore will observe a market holiday on June 2. South Korea’s gross domestic product and its latest inflation readings will be released on Friday.
— Jihye Lee
