Asian Market Update – Tuesday: Cryptocurrencies in red; Asian stocks subdued

By: Fredrik Vold

Crypto rally is losing steam

Cryptocurrencies were trading lower in Tuesday morning trading, with prices of bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin all pointing down.

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Bitcoin was down 0.42 percent to about $11,594 as of midday, after a slight rally of about $300 early in the morning. The level was more than $200 higher that the same time yesterday but still well below the record high of nearly $11,900 from Sunday. Overall, the steep uptrend of bitcoin remains intact.

Ethereum was 0.5 percent off at $465 at midday, largely unchanged from the level at the same time yesterday. The coin, is now down more than $40 from its recent high of $518 reached on November 29.

Litecoin was down 2.19 percent to $102 at midday in Asia, after surging from about $97 to a high of $104 before falling back overnight.

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Main Market Movers – Mid-day Asian Trading Session

Major Asian equity markets were muted on Tuesday morning, with markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney trading slightly lower and only fractional gains seen elsewhere.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.31 percent at midday, keeping prices in the downward trend that started last week when the index saw its biggest weekly loss of the year, trading down by 2.7 percent for the week.

Down under, the ASX 200 was off by 0.23 percent to 5,971 at midday. Investors there are paying attention to a scheduled announcement from the Aussie central bank later in the day on its monetary policy decision for December.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.16 percent to 22,670.

Gains in Asian stock markets were led by South Korea’s Kospi, which edged up 0.29 percent to around 2,508 at midday.

On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was up a slight 0.06 percent to 3,311.

The S&P 500 E-Mini Futures also climbed 0.16 percent to 2,642, following mixed trading on Wall Street yesterday.

Currencies

The Japanese yen lost 0.11 percent against the US dollar at midday Tuesday, changing hands at 112.52 per dollar.

The Chinese yuan firmed 0.11 percent against the US dollar at 6.6113 per dollar.

The Australian dollar gained 0.57 percent on the dollar, changing hands at 1.3083 per dollar at midday.

Commodities

WTI Oil was up 0.24 percent to $57.57 per barrel.

Brent Crude gained 0.11 percent to $62.50 per barrel.

Gold was 0.06 percent lower at $1,275 an ounce.

News across Asia

In China, the country’s services sector posted a three-month high in November. The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index grew to 51.9 in the month, up from 51.2 in the previous month and the highest reading since August. A reading above 50 points indicates expansion in manufacturing activity.

Take away: Such a reading from the private index confirmed earlier official data and further suggests that China’s economy is slowing, although very gradually.

In Australia, retail sales down under are picking up pace. Official data out on Tuesday showed that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in October from the previous month, the fastest in more than six months.

Take away: The data is good news for the economy, but Aussie brick-and-mortar stores would continue to struggle amid rising competition from online sellers such as Amazon, who recently opened business there.