09/16/2024 – 5:57
By André Marinho
São Paulo, 09/16/2024 – Hong Kong and Taiwan stock exchanges closed higher on Monday, in a session with reduced liquidity due to holidays that closed markets in Japan, South Korea and mainland China. Investors are positioning themselves for a week that will be marked by interest rate decisions from some of the world’s major central banks, including the Federal Reserve (Fed).
Over the weekend, industry and retail data that fell short of expectations reinforced the scenario of uncertainty about the recovery of the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, property prices in the country fell the most in nine years in August, in yet another effect of the crisis that is punishing the local real estate sector.
TD Securities predicts that the situation could prompt the Chinese government to announce new stimulus measures in the coming weeks. On Friday (local time), the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) will set rates on one- and five-year mortgages. “We expect the authorities to address the lack of consumer confidence by launching more housing stimulus to stem the property market rout,” the investment bank said.
In this environment, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.31% to 17,422.12 points. Biotechnology company Akeso jumped 16.14% after announcing progress in tests for a lung cancer drug.
Since last Friday, investors have been increasing their bets that the Fed will open the monetary easing cycle with a 50 basis point interest rate cut. The Bank of Japan (BoJ), in turn, may choose to keep the base rate unchanged before raising it again in subsequent meetings. Amid the wait, the yen reached its highest level since July 2023 today
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 0.42% to 21,850.08 points. In Oceania, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.27% in Sydney to 8,121.60 points, a new all-time high.
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