SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures recovered at closing on Thursday amid talks of quantitative trading strategies in top consumer China, though a sluggish Japanese economy capped gains.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for February delivery was up 0.6 yen, or 0.3%, at 234.3 yen ($1.58) per kg at closing. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery was down 180 yuan, or 1.26%, at 14,065 yuan ($1,926.08) per metric ton.
In top consumer China, there have been talks to speed up the introduction of more policies to consolidate its economic recovery, state media CCTV reported on Wednesday, citing a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang, after the economy showed tentative signs of stabilising.
Despite a slew of market-friendly measures, China’s stock market continued to struggle to recover. Regulators began to probe some hedge funds and brokerages on quantitative trading strategies amid a growing outcry against a sector that’s able to profit from share price falls and volatility, sources said.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average closed down 1.37% on Thursday, as technology heavyweights tracked their US peers’ declines after the Federal Reserve stiffened its hawkish stance with a further interest rate hike projected by the year-end.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday he will instruct his government to pull together the pillars of an economic package early next week under his new cabinet.
Asian stocks followed Wall Street’s lead on Thursday, dipping across the board as investors interpreted the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy statements as signalling higher-for-longer interest rates.
Source: Brecorder
