Market Outlook

Stocks in Asia Pacific Region were mixed on Friday, following the bearish momentum of Thursday’s fall in the US. The initial jobless claims data of the US missed expectations, hurting the positive sentiment amid the recent vaccine hopes.

The second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the US is still deteriorating, turning the market back to a bit bearish condition. Stocks in Asia Pacific region generally fell on Tuesday, following the momentum of Monday’s drop of the US stocks, despite the hopes of vaccine.

On Friday Asian session, the stock markets are overall following the momentum of Thursday’s night. The performances of the three major indexes on Wall Street were mixed, which the Dow dropped more than 300 points, while investors continually chased tech stocks.

ISM figures showed that the US service industry resumed to the pre-pandemic level in June, rising to 57.1, beating the expectations around 50.2. It boosted the market confidence in “quick” economic recovery from the pandemic, supporting the buying interest.

The record-setting figures boosted the sentiment in the early US session, but profit-taking activities limited the whole market. The three major Wall Street indexes all edged higher on Thursday, while the strong Nasdaq jumped the most, up 0.52%.

On Tuesday, stock markets in Asia Pacific Region generally edged higher as the housing data in the US announced last night boosted new optimism. Even though the second wave of pandemic sparked bearish sentiment, investors once again betted on the “quick” economic recovery. The three major Wall Street indexes all rose more than 1%, of which the Dow jumped 580 points, up more than 2.3%.

Risk-on sentiment continued on Tuesday, as the market expects the White House will soon launch another economic stimulus package to tackle the pandemic-driven recession. On the other hand, Trump and his administration clarified the trade deal with China is “fully intact”, assuring the whole market. All three Wall Street indexes rose on Tuesday, of which the Nasdaq advanced 0.74%.

Market sentiment improved on Friday earlier session as the investors believed that the China-US tension eased after the closed-door meeting in Hawaii. It is reported that China will accelerate the purchases of the US agricultural products, which boosted the Wall Street. However, the risk of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic sparked the fears. Three major indexes lost all the gains in the late session.

The rise in new coronavirus cases is now one of the key concerns again, with more than 8.4 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 450000 deaths. The risk of reopening economic activities is going to be higher and higher, which may slow down the recovery unless the vaccine has been developed.

On Tuesday, the three major Wall Street indexes all rose, of which the DOW jumped more than 2%. The record-setting US retail sales figures, another potential $1 trillion fiscal stimulus from the White House and the positive coronavirus trial test result sparked the rally.