WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
‘Developing Asia’ to shrink for first time in nearly six decades: ADB
MANILA – The coronavirus pandemic will cause economic output in “developing Asia” to shrink for the first time in nearly six decades in 2020 before it bounces back next year, the Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday.
“Developing Asia”, which groups 45 countries in Asia-Pacific, is expected to contract 0.7% this year, the ADB said, forecasting the first negative quarterly figure since 1962. The ADB’s previous forecast in June had reckoned on 0.1% growth.
For 2021, the region is forecast to recover and grow 6.8%, still below pre-COVID-19 predictions, the ADB said in an update of its Asian Development Outlook report.
The updated forecasts show the damage brought by the pandemic was greater than previously thought, with about three-quarters of the region’s economies forecast to slump this year.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Wall Street closes broadly higher on deal news, vaccine hopes
U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Monday as signs of progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine and a spurt of multibillion-dollar deals lifted investor optimism.
Gains were broad-based, with all of the S&P 500 sectors ending in positive territory and real estate and technology leading gains.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca resumed its British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development.
Also, Pfizer Inc rose 2.6% after the drugmaker and German biotech firm BioNTech SE proposed to expand their Phase 3 pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial to about 44,000 participants.
“The market loves anything with a vaccine because that is the ultimate solution here. And we’ll see more and more headlines,” on that going forward, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / ECONOMY / MARKET
Oil inches lower as bleaker demand outlook weighs
TOKYO – Oil prices inched lower on Tuesday as a bleaker outlook for global fuel demand prompted fresh selling, but short-covering ahead of a meeting later this week of OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, limited losses.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $39.58 a barrel by 0102 GMT, reversing earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 2 cents, or 0.1%, at $37.24 a barrel.
Both contracts ended slightly lower the previous day.
Major oil industry producers and traders are forecasting a bleak future for worldwide fuel demand, due to the coronavirus pandemic’s ongoing assault on the global economy, with OPEC downgrading its oil demand forecast on Monday and BP citing demand might have peaked in 2019.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Dollar softer as sentiment recovers on vaccine hopes and deals
TOKYO – The dollar dipped against riskier currencies on Tuesday as hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine and big corporate deals improved investor appetite for assets such as the yuan and the euro.
The dollar index =USD dipped to 93.029, slipping further from a one-month high of 93.664 touched last Wednesday, with its low last week of 92.695 seen as an immediate support.
The euro inched up to $1.1867 EUR=, having gained for four straight sessions until Monday.
Against the safe-haven yen, the dollar traded at 105.73 yen JPY=, having touched a two-week low of 105.55 yen on Monday.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Asian shares set to dip as investors await key data
NEW YORK – Asian shares looked set to open lower on Tuesday as investors shifted focus to upcoming data and central bank meetings although positive developments around potential COVID-19 vaccines and increased deal activity are likely to stem losses.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 0.22% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures lost 0.08%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were flat after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a ruling party leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.11%.
On the economic data front, China’s industrial production and retail sales for August are expected to show an improving economy later on Tuesday. Chinese house price data for August is also due.
Full coverage: REUTERS
