Asian markets slip after wall street’s weak finish

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MG News | February 24, 2025 at 10:44 AM GMT+05:00

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February 24, 2025 (MLN): Asian markets mostly fell Monday following a dour end to last week for Wall Street, where a disappointing round of data added to concerns about the world's number one economy.

The euro started on the front foot after conservatives won a closely watched election in Germany, with leader Friedrich Merz urging the speedy formation of a new coalition government.

After a healthy performance on Friday, Asian investors struggled to maintain momentum after big losses in New York, where the Nasdaq lost more than 2%.

The selling came after a report showed activity in the key services sector hit a 25-month low in February, while separate data indicated consumer sentiment dived almost 10% from January.

Meanwhile, another study revealed that expectations for inflation hit a three-decade high, as APP reported.

The readings follow a recent run of figures pointing to a softening of the labour market and prices continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve's target rate.

There have been increasing fears since Donald Trump regained the US presidency that his plans to impose import tariffs, and slash taxes, immigration and regulations would reignite inflation.

That has led investors to scale back their expectations for how many interest rate cuts the Fed will make this year.

Hong Kong advanced in early Asian trade, building on Friday's blockbuster rally fuelled by tech firms, particularly an eye-watering rise of more than 14% in ecommerce titan Alibaba.

The Chinese firm piled on more than one percent, while JD.com was up 0.9%.

However, while Singapore also edged up the rest of the region struggled.

Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington were all in the red.

The euro got a lift from news that Merz's CDU/CSU alliance won more than 28%, according to projections, crushing the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came third.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second, almost doubling its score to over 20%.

Merz said he wanted to quickly form a government, warning that as Trump is driving rapid and disruptive changes, "the world isn't waiting for us".

"Markets will like that, presuming it is achieved," said National Australia Bank's senior forex analyst Rodrigo Catril.

Oil prices extended losses after dropping as much as 3% on Friday as the weak US data sparked demand fears, while there are also growing expectations Trump will ease the sanctions that have limited Russian oil exports.

Copyright Mettis Link News

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402.35
KSE30 40,814.29
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0.33%
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KMI30 192,589.16
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0.49%
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KMIALLSHR 56,072.25
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Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 118,140.00 119,450.00
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BRENT CRUDE 70.63 70.71
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RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 97.50 0.00
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ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 108.75 108.75
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USD RBD PALM OLEIN 998.50 998.50
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CRUDE OIL - WTI 68.75 68.77
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SUGAR #11 WORLD 16.56 16.60
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