Asia stocks mixed after Wall Street rebound
October 4, 2019, 10:35 am

Asia stocks mixed after Wall Street rebound

Tokyo and Hong Kong declined while Sydney gained and Seoul was unchanged on Friday. (File photo AP)

Asian stocks were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded on investor hopes for a US interest rate cut.

Tokyo and Hong Kong declined while Sydney gained and Seoul was unchanged.

US stocks pulled out of a two-day skid sparked by unexpectedly weak manufacturing and hiring data. Markets were hit again Thursday by a survey showing weaker-than-forecast growth in US service industries, but investor hopes were buoyed by growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will cut rates again to shore up economic activity.

“Increased hopes for further interest rate cuts by the Fed look to help stabilize markets into the end of the week,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a report.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost just under 0.1 percent to 21,321.99 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent to 25,973.76.

Seoul’s Kospi edged 0.1 percent lower to 2,030.94 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 6,508.60. Taiwan and New Zealand gained while Singapore declined.

On Wall Street, shares were boosted Thursday by strength in technology industries.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 2,910.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 26,201.04. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 1.1 percent to 7,872.26.

Microsoft Corp. climbed 1.2 percent. Chipmakers were among the sector’s biggest gainers. Nvidia rose 4.8 percent and Micron Technology added 3.5 percent.

Health care, communication services and industrial stocks also helped power the rebound. Pfizer rose 2.2 percent, Facebook gained 2.7 percent and Boeing rose 1.3 percent.

Investors are wrestling with uncertainty about the economy and the impact of a US-Chinese tariff war.

Adding to their unease, the Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said its non-manufacturing index sank to 52.6 from 56.4 in August. Readings above 50 signal growth, but September’s figures are the lowest since August 2016.

Services account for more than two-thirds of the US economy and have been resilient in the face of the tariff war that is squeezing manufacturers.

The Fed has lowered rates by a quarter-percentage point twice this year in a bid to shield the economy from slowing growth abroad and the effects of the trade war. Investors put the odds the Fed will cut rates again at the end of this month at above 88 percent, according to the CME Group.

The federal government is due to release its own snapshot of the job market on Friday. The Labor Department is expected to report employers added 145,000 jobs last month, up from 130,00 in August, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.