Sunset scene of light trails traffic speeds through an intersection in Gangnam center business district of Seoul at Seoul city, South Korea
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, after private sector hiring in the U.S. hit its lowest level in over two years, raising concerns that trade policy uncertainty could be weighing on the world's largest economy.
A report from payrolls processing firm ADP showed that payrolls rose only 37,000 for the month, less than the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and below the consensus forecast of 110,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast.
South Korean markets extended gains from the previous session, with the benchmark Kospi advancing 1.49% to close at 2,812.05 after hitting a more than 10-month high earlier in the day, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.8% to close at 756.23.
Analysts at Nomura expect the Kospi to hit 2,900 by the end of the year, fueled by capital market reforms President Lee Jae-myung is expected to undertake. It is currently at around 2,800.
Lee is also expected to "focus on lifting domestic demand by quickly rolling out a second extra budget in July," the bank's analysts, led by Jeong Woo Park, wrote in a Wednesday note.
"We expect a more expansionary fiscal policy during his presidency than in the government's long-term fiscal plan (an average 3.7% y-o-y rise in spending over the next three years)," they added.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.51% to end the trading day at 37,554.49, while the broader Topix index lost 1.03% to close at 2,756.47.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed flat at 8,538.9.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.85% while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.23% to close at 3,877.56.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex added 0.84% and 0.77% respectively. The Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 5.75% on Friday after a two-day meeting.
— CNBC's Pia Singh, Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Citi plans to slash 3,500 tech roles in China as global banks cut costs
Citigroup said Thursday it plans to cut around 3,500 technology positions in China, in the latest move by a major U.S. bank to streamline global operations and reduce costs.
The reduction of staff at the China Citi Solution Centers in Shanghai and Dalian is expected to be completed by the start of the fourth quarter this year, Citi said in a statement.
The jobs affected are mostly in the information technology services unit, providing software technology development, testing and maintenance and operational services for Citi's global business.
Read the full story here.
—Anniek Bao
Asian tech giants extend rise for second day
Asia-Pacific tech giants extended their gains for a second session Thursday, following a tech rally on Wall Street overnight.
In Japan, Advantest Corp rose 4.48%, Renesas Electronics was trading 4.05% higher, while SoftBank Group was down 0.58% as of 12.30 p.m. Singapore time.
South Korea's SK Hynix surged 3.45% while Samsung Electronics advanced 2.16%.
Gains in Taiwan's tech giants were more muted, with TSMC and Hon Hai Precision Industry — known globally as Foxconn — advancing 0.4% and 0.32% respectively.
Over in Hong Kong, the tech-heavy Hang Seng Tech index was last seen up 0.96%.
Among the top movers were Kuaishou Technology, which advanced 4.34%, SenseTime, which increased by 2.94%, Meituan, which rose 2.63% and Alibaba, which added 2.53%.
Gains were also seen in Nio, which rose by 1.97% and Xpeng, which added 1.08%, according to LSEG data
— Amala Balakrishner
Asia-Pacific steelmakers mostly rise despite Trump's tariff rollout
Shares of Asia-Pacific steelmakers mostly rose Thursday, after the U.S. tariff rate on most imported steel and aluminum doubled to 50%.
Shares of Chinese state-owned steel manufacturers Angang Steel and Maanshan Iron & Steel moved up 1.9% and 1.75% respectively as of 12.05 p.m. Singapore time.
Over in Japan, Osaka Steel shares were down 1.14%, while Yamato Kogyo fell 1.16%. South Korea's Posco Holdings surged 3.67% while Hyundai Steel added 1.08%.
Meanwhile, India's Tata Steel was flat, Jindal Steel and Power moved up 0.45% and JSW Steel added 0.25%.
— Amala Balakrishner
South Korean shares extend gains for second day with Kospi hitting 10-month highs
KOSPI index
Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq index climbed 0.80% to 756.32, its highest since February. The index has risen over 11% so far this year.
Gains were broad-based across sectors, with strong moves seen in Hanwha Aerospace which popped 7%, chipmaker SK Hynix gained over 3%, K-pop group SM Entertainment added nearly 5% and Posco Holdings advanced 4.7%.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics gained 2.3%, while shares of Naver and LG Energy Solutions climbed over 3% and a little under 1%, respectively.
— Amala Balakrishner
Caixin China services PMI grows in May even as tariffs impact export orders
China's services activity in May climbed from the month before, buoyed by rising tourism activity. However, new export orders slowed at a slightly lower pace, weighed by uncertainty from the U.S. tariffs.
The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index came in at 51.1 in May, rising from 50.7 in April and remaining above the 50-mark, which separates an expansion from a contraction.
The latest reading from the private sector survey comes as trade talks between Beijing and Washington stall.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it was "extremely hard" to make a deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, after both sides blamed each other for violating a trade agreement reached in Switzerland on May 12.
— Amala Balakrishner
Nintendo shares fall nearly 2% as Switch 2 hits stores
Nintendo shares
Switch 2 is an updated version of the Japanese video game company's Switch console, which was launched in 2017.
The latest console bears several similarities to its predecessor, but boasts a larger screen, improved graphics, as well as titles such as Mario Kart World.
Switch 2 is priced at $449.99 in most markets, making it Nintendo's most expensive console to date. The video game company said last month that it expects to sell 15 million units of the Switch 2 console.
Read the full story here.
— Amala Balakrishner
Dalio warns against trying to lower interest rates 'unnaturally'
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said on "Squawk on the Street" that the U.S. government debt situation is "urgent" but that lowering interest rates will not necessarily help ease the situation.
"You can't unnaturally lower interest rates without a negative consequence. ... You don't get richer by lower interest rates or printing money," Dalio said.
One of the consequences of higher Treasury yields is that new debt issued by the U.S. government has higher annual payments than the bonds issued during low-yield periods.
Dalio also said that we are moving into a period of "greater than normal risk" and that investors should have a diversified portfolio while generally de-emphasizing debt assets. That could include 10% to 15% of a portfolio in gold, Dalio said.
"I think it's going to be a good asset, but it also is a diversifying asset," he added about gold.
The hedge fund manager is currently promoting his new book titled "How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle"
— Jesse Pound
English (US) ·