Asian Stocks Followed Wall Street Higher

Highlights:

• USA
  Wall Street settled with a triple record for a second consecutive day. The Dow Jones added 0.36%. The selective S&P 500 increased by 0.35%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq rose by 0.21%. 
• ASIA
  Nikkei increased by 0.52% or 149.22 to 28,718.24.
  Kospi added 0.77% or 24.91 points to 3,271.38.
  The Hang Seng index was up by 1.63% or 448.17 points, at 27,963.41. 
• EUROPE
  The STOXX 600 retreated by 0.1%.

Wall Street Settled with a Triple Record Again

Wall Street settled with record gains this Monday. All of its leading indicators posted increases—the Dow Jones advanced by 0.36% or 126.02 points, to 34,996.18. Meanwhile, the selective S&P 500 added 0.35% or 15.08 points, to 4,384.63. 

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 0.21% or 31.32 points, to 14,733.24. 

Chris Larkin, the managing director of trading at E-Trade, stated that we now stand in an uncertain position as earnings season fires up. He believes that traders will likely focus on earnings. 

Large firms to announce their reports this week

A triple record in the three leading indices marked on Friday pushed the New York Stock Market higher this week. Banks JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs will announce their account today, along with PepsiCo and Conagra Brands.

Meanwhile, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley will publish them this week. Later this week, reports are also expected from Delta Air Lines, UnitedHealth, and Taiwan Semiconductor.

Jack Ablin, the head of investments of the firm Cresset Wealth Advisors, stated that most investors expect the maximum profit results. 

By sectors, non-essential consumer goods companies gained 0.21%, real estate companies added 0.20%, and health companies rose by 0.15%. At the same time, energy companies posted the most significant drop by 0.90%, as raw materials yielded 0.49%, and public services decreased by 0.41%.

Among the thirty values of the Dow Jones, Intel led gains adding 0.96%. Walgreens followed it by a 0.49% increase, and Disney hiked by 0.47%. At the same time, Dow experienced the most significant drop by 1.16%. Moreover, Boeing declined by 0.75%, and JPMorgan Chase lost 0.66%. 

The market is also awaiting US data on consumer price inflation. Besides, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will appear before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Among individual stocks, shares of Virgin Galactic cut 17% or $8.51 to $40.69. It followed the company’s announcement of it agreeing to the sale of up to $500 million in stock. 

On Monday, Tesla shares advanced by 4.4% as CEO Elon Musk testified to defend Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity in a shareholder lawsuit. 

Recovery continues as Nikkei adds 0.52%

Japanese shares advanced considerably today. In fact, the Nikkei increased by 0.52% or 149.22 to 28,718.24. 

Technically, analysts believe the medium-term situation is pessimistic. Meanwhile, bullish signals can be seen in the short term. The support area was identified at 28,100.2. 

Unitika, Ltd. was the session’s best performer, increasing by 4.76% or 16.0 points to trade at 352.0 at the close. Hitachi Zosen Corp. increased by 4.67% or 37.0 points to end at 829.0. At the same time, Nippon Sheet Glass Co. surged by 4.62% or 28.0 points to 634.0. 

As for the losers, Dainippon Screen Mfg, Co. decreased by 5.04% or 520.0 points to 9790.0. In addition, Advantest Corp. sank by 2.79% or 270.0 points to end at 9410.0. Toho Co. yielded 1.83% or 85.0 points to 4555.0. 

Seoul stocks are up for the second day 

The Seoul stock exchange tracked Wall Streets’ gain and rose by 0.77% or 24.91 points to stand at 3,271.38. 

At the same time, the Kosdaq technological index advanced by 0.84% or 8.67 points to 1,043.31 units. 

The Kospi started the session positively, and thanks to the upbeat data of June exports from China, the index even expanded profits. 

Samsung Electronics gained 0.13%, and SK Hynix, the second-largest chipmaker in the country, rose by 2.5%.

Navar, the operator of the main national internet search engine, added 5.38%. Kakao, the most significant South Korean messaging application, dropped by 0.62%. 

Hyundai Motor, the largest South Korean automaker, closed flat. 

Furthermore, the giant pharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics dropped by 0.57% to 865,000 won.

Leading chemical firm LG Chem slumped by 1.06% to 840,000. Meanwhile, renewable battery maker Samsung SDI raised by 2.74% to 750,000.

On Thursday, the Bank of Korea kept its interest rates unchanged at record lows. 

Hang Seng advanced to the positive data of Chinese trade

Hong Kong shares climbed on Tuesday. They followed China’s antitrust regulator’s approval of its plan to take the search engine Sogou Inc SOGO.N private in a $3.5 billion deal. 

The Hang Seng index extended by 1.63% or 448.17 points, at 27,963.41. 

The Hang Seng China Enterprises index advanced by 1.69% to 10,113.32.

Tech companies supported gains in Hong Kong, adding 1.94%. At the same time, the IT sector increased by 3.3%. 

Tencent Holdings Ltd surged by 3.93%. The financial sector also rose by 1.54%. 

China’s customs data also sustained the sentiment. It showed that China’s exports grew faster than expected in June. At the same time, growth in imports also exceeded expectations. 

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd led the gains by 5.18%. On the contrary, WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc was the day’s loser cutting 3.1%. 

According to Citigroup estimates, carmaker Geely fared 5.18% on prospects for its first-half earnings to improve.

In the financial sector, the best performers were the insurance company AIA, which added 3.08%, and the largest bank in Europe, HSBC, increasing by 2.62%.

In real estate, Longfor Group’s earnings contrasted with CG Services’s drops.

The day has been profitable for Chinese state stocks. Sinopec rose by 2.18%, and telephone operators like China Unicom hiked by 2.19%.

The business volume of the session was 155,700 million Hong Kong dollars.

China’s main Shanghai Composite index climbed by 0.53% at 3,566.52 points. Meanwhile, the blue-chip CSI300 index grew by 0.18%.

European stocks take a break after historic highs

European stocks are taking a break after the all-time highs they reached yesterday. The STOXX 600, grouping the 600 most extensive components in the region, retreated by 0.1%.

The European Central Bank may take steps to ensure that banks avoid paying excessively high dividends this year. 

The British FTSE 100 rose 0.20%, and the German DAX lost 0.13%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 fell 0.18%, the Italian FTSE MIB lost 0.25%, and the Spanish IBEX 35 fell 0,63%.

Investors are looking forward to hearing the US consumer price data for June later today. 

Among individual stocks, Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia surged by 6.6% after the company said it planned to increase its full-year outlook.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group grew by 2.0% as it returned to profit in the first six months of 2021. The firm’s sales bounced more than 50%. Rival Richemont climbed by 0.4%.

As for the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization made an announcement on Monday. According to their statement, most fully vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant are asymptomatic. However, hospitalizations are increasing in various parts of the world, especially where the vaccination rate is low, and the distribution of the highly contagious Delta strain is significant.