By Yium Tavarolit
The Movements of Global Stocks, Finance and Energy
Most Asian stock markets fell slightly during the week amid lots of bearish news on global stock markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index settled at 11,385.94 on Friday while the Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished the week at 5,018.15. Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices also closed lower at 2,314.16 and at 22,782.44 on Friday as investors worried thatBeijing will tighten financial loans to stop speculation on property markets in the country.
European shares rose for the first week as better-than-expected corporate earnings in Europeand measures of German confidence could outweigh concern that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will scale back its asset-purchase program. The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.4% to 288.57 this week. France’s CAC 40 index added 2.3% to 3,706.28 and rose 1.3% on the week. The German DAX 30 index moved 1% higher to 7,661.91 and closed out the week 0.9% higher The U.K.’s FTSE 100 put on 0.7% to 6,335.70 and added 0.1% on the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, and the Nasdaq Composite index moved downwards along the week as investors were concerned that Fed will curtail its stimulus program. The Dow ended at 14,000.57 on Friday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices finished at 1,515.60 and at 3,161.82 on the same day.
The euro weakened but the Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar during the week as the European Central Bank said institutions will repay less of Long-term Refinancing Operation borrowing in the coming week than economists forecast, and Japan is in a process of selecting a new governor of Bank of Japan. On Friday, the euro weakened against the dollar at $1.3188, but the Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar at Y93.38. The Chinese yuan also strengthened slightly against the dollar at CNY6.2346 on the same day.
The two-day selloff on the U.S. stock market on Wednesday and Thursday dampened global commodity markets, including crude oil futures, before they would rebound slightly on Friday supported by a report on better-than-expected corporate earnings in Europe and measures of German confidence. Light, sweet crude futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 29 cents to settle at $93.13 a barrel on Friday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Rubber Markets
Rubber markets in Asia fell heavily from Tuesday to Friday when market players on Tokyo rubber futures started selling their contracts for profit-taking on Tuesday and cut loss-selling heavily from Wednesday to Friday forced by the heavy selloff on the U.S. stock market and global commodity markets from Wednesday to Thursday even though the Japanese yen stayed rangebound in the range of Y93.10 to Y93.85 during the week. These resulted in the significant falls in IRCo’s DCP and natural rubber (NR) prices on Friday compared with an earlier Friday as shown in the table below.
|
Description |
22-Feb-13 |
15-Feb-13 |
Change |
Unit |
|
IRCo’s DCP |
300.89 |
315.37 |
-14.48 |
US cents/kg |
|
TOCOM/RSS3 * |
|
|
|
|
|
– Feb. |
285.90 |
306.00 |
-20.10 |
Yen/kg |
|
– Jul. |
297.10 |
321.40 |
-24.30 |
Yen/kg |
|
– Volume |
9,304 |
8,011 |
1,293 |
Lots |
|
SHFE/RSS3 ** |
25,165 |
Closed |
– |
Yuan/ton |
|
AFET/RSS3 |
|
|
|
|
|
– Mar. |
89.90 |
96.50 |
-6.60 |
THB/kg |
|
– Sep. |
93.65 |
101.25 |
-7.60 |
THB/kg |
|
– Volume |
243 |
206 |
37 |
Lots |
|
SMR20 *** |
301.00 |
316.00 |
-15.00 |
US cents/kg |
|
SIR20 *** |
293.00 |
306.00 |
-13.00 |
US cents/kg |
|
RRIT |
|
|
|
|
|
– RSS3 |
91.45 |
97.70 |
-6.25 |
THB/kg |
|
– STR20 |
89.05 |
91.55 |
-2.50 |
THB/kg |
|
– USS3 |
81.09 |
84.83 |
-3.74 |
THB/kg |
|
– Conc. Latex |
61.05 |
61.35 |
-0.30 |
THB/kg |
|
– Field Latex |
78.00 |
82.00 |
-4.00 |
THB/kg |
|
Notes: * The day sessions ** the most active month is Sep. *** offers, fob prices for Mar. & Apr. deliveries |
||||
On the technical front, IRCo’s MACD pulled down its Signal Line further in negative territory, while its RSI stayed at 8.53% on Friday. It is possible that IRCo’s RSI could rebound in the coming week if there is an improvement on global stock and commodity markets in the coming week that will restore investor confidence, including market players’ confidence on rubber futures in the region, because the dry wintering season in NR producing countries, especially Thailand and Malaysia, is curbing NR supply, IRCo’s RSI stays at a low level, and the Japanese yen still weakens against the dollar.
Source: IRCo
