Stock Exchanges Mixed amid Earnings Season
Stock exchanges performed differently yesterday amid China data. The third-quarter earnings season has also officially started.
After finishing last week with a bang, stock euphoria quickly faded. Dow futures showed a 0.5% slump while S&P 500 similarly shed around 0.5%. NASDAQ 100 was also down.
Due to Columbus Day yesterday, US markets traded with lower liquidity.
Asian markets, however, fared better.
China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component gained 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.2% in Monday morning trade.
Japan’s Nikkei traded 1.2% higher. Similarly, South Korea’s KOSPI fetched 1.4% gains. In the land down under, Australia’s main index climbed 0.7%.
Over in Europe, bleak movements spooked investors.
STOXX 600 lost 0.7%, at 388.84, after rising on Friday to its highest since the start of this month. European investors expected some progress in both the Brexit saga and the US-China trade talks.
Stock Exchanges Movements, Finance Reports
Exchanges reacted to the news differently yesterday, which was full of releases and data.
For one, China released its imports and exports data, which both slumped at the fastest rate in three years.
Figures show that exports dropped 3.2%, while imports plummeted 8.5% on a year-on-year basis. The country’s total trade balance for September was at $39.65 billion.
European stock markets slumped on this news since many companies in the region have high exposure to Chinese trade.
On the flip side, Asian markets moved on a more bullish note because of the apparent US-China trade progress.
US President Donald Trump commented that the deal’s “Phase One” is now complete. Analysts, on the other hand, warned investors that the optimism could quickly disappear, as the trade war history showed.
All of these come as US companies prepare to kick off this third quarter’s earnings season.
Banks and brokerages started reported third-quarter earnings, while a slew of other companies will report later in the day.
