Asia’s Top September Since ‘13 Saves Tough Quarter: Taking Stock
Asia’s Top September Since ‘13 Saves Tough Quarter: Taking Stock
(Bloomberg) -- The last trading day of September is shaping up to be a key trading day on multiple fronts for Asian investors, setting up both the end of the year and beyond.
For Asia equities, ending the month on a positive note would secure the best September performance on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index since 2013. It would also help to claw back some of the losses seen during a difficult July and August, softening an otherwise weak third quarter that saw the benchmark retreat 2.1% to halt a first half rally as tensions resumed in the U.S.-China trade war. The wider MSCI All-Country World Index is down less than 1% in the third quarter.
Monday will be the last opportunity for investors in mainland China stocks to position their portfolios before onshore markets shutter for a week-long holiday, returning Oct. 8.
Given the potential for President Donald Trump to make headlines on the trade front at any time with talks set to resume between U.S. and Chinese officials in October, a week-long pause might as well be an eternity for investors. Hong Kong will also be closed Tuesday, as the city braces for potential violence on the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China.
China’s CSI 300 Index has held up better than the broader Asian benchmark, with a 0.3% gain for the quarter. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index meanwhile is closing in on a 9% third-quarter slump, its worst since 2015.
Not to be left out, Japan’s Topix Index is on track to enjoy its best monthly gain since October 2017, and set to beat the S&P 500 on a quarterly basis for the first time in almost two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Retail stocks led gains during the quarter as consumers pushed forward their spending ahead of the Oct. 1 sales tax increase.
“Japan has been on a stealth rally,” Morgan Stanley said in a recent note to clients. “Despite a slowing global backdrop, we have seen greater resilience in Japan earnings versus history as corporates have focused on productive capex, better corporate governance in the form of non-core cross share sales, share buybacks and the like.”
Stock-Market Summary
- MSCI Asia Pacific Index ex-Japan little changed
- MSCI Asia Pacific Index down 0.2%
- Japan’s Topix index down 0.8%; Nikkei 225 down 0.5%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index up 0.2%; Hang Seng China Enterprises up 0.3%; Shanghai Composite down 0.3%; CSI 300 down 0.4%
- South Korea’s Kospi index up 0.4%; Kospi 200 up 0.5%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 up 0.2%; New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 up 0.6%
- Singapore’s Straits Times Index down 0.2%; Malaysia’s KLCI little changed; Philippine Stock Exchange Index little changed; Jakarta Composite down 0.6%; Thailand’s SET down 0.2%; Vietnam’s VN Index up 0.2%
- S&P 500 e-mini futures up 0.5% after index closed down 0.5% in last session
--With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Lianting Tu, Abhishek Vishnoi
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.