Nikkei 225 drops, Hang Seng jumps ahead of earnings
Asian equities are displaying a mixed picture today as investors’ focus remains firmly on corporate earnings. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.30% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained by 0.60%. Meanwhile, in Australia, the ASX 200 dipped by 0.62% and in South Korea, the KOSPI climbed by more than 1%.
The Hang Seng is up today as investors await earnings from some of the index’s biggest companies. Among the most notable names that plan to report today are HKEX, China Tower, CK Infrastructure, Power Assets and Manulife – companies with a combined market cap of more than H$1 trillion. The earnings will come a day after results from Hang Seng Bank came in and two days after HSBC released weak results.
In Japan, the biggest movers in the Nikkei 225 are Sumitomo Metal, DeNa Corp, Alps Electric and DOWA Holdings. Yamaha and Softbank, on the other hand, are the biggest laggards following relatively weak results. Their share price dropped by more than 6% and 4%, respectively.
DAX Index awaits key earnings
In Europe, futures tied to the DAX index climbed by more than 0.70% as investors eagerly wait multiple key corporate earnings. Among the notable companies that will release their earnings are Deutsche Post, BMW as well as Continental, among the best-known brands in the DAX index. Their results will come a day after weak earnings from Bayer and higher numbers from Infineon were made public. DAX index futures are trading at 12,639 euros.
Dow Jones futures rise
In the United States, futures tied to the Dow Jones are up by 70 points as investors react to positive earnings from Disney. The entertainment giant said that it has increased its number of active subscribers to more than 100 million, a surprising number considering the firm launched Disney+ only a few months ago. In total, Disney generated revenues of $11.78 billion, which was lower than the expected $12.37 billion. Later today, the Dow Jones will react to results from CVS, Regeneron, Square, Humana, and Sprint, among others.
Dow index futures are trading at $26,784.
Gold continues to gain momentum
Yesterday, gold price made history when it moved above $2,000. Today, the metal is continuing its rise. It is up by more than 1% and is trading at $2030, as bulls remain in charge. Similarly, silver price has climbed by 0.80% to the current level of $26. This surge is probably because of the weaker US dollar. The closely-watched dollar index has fallen by 0.20%.
Looking ahead, the economic calendar will be relatively busy today. Among the important numbers to watch will be global services and composite PMIs from Markit, Eurozone’s retail sales, Swedish GDP data, and ADP private payrolls numbers. In addition, we will receive the EIA crude oil inventories data from the US.
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Gold price maintains momentum
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