Morning wrap (02.12.2024)

The Asia-Pacific region indices are trading with mixed sentiment. Chinese indices are down by 0.30–0.40%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index is gaining 0.30% to 38,400 points, while Singapore SG20cash futures are losing 0.09%.

On the forex market, the US dollar is the biggest gainer in the first part of the day. Its gains range from 0.3% to as much as 0.5% against other currencies. The Dollar Index rebounds by 0.41% to 106.2000 points.

On the other hand, the Japanese yen is among the biggest losers, declining by 0.4% to as much as 0.7%. The USD/JPY currency pair rises by 0.67% to 150.5380.

In the first part of the day, PMI reports for the manufacturing sector were released for Japan, China, and India, among others.

Japan's manufacturing PMI was 49.0 points in November, down from 49.2 points in October, marking the lowest reading since March. The decline reflects ongoing challenges, with weaker demand leading to sustained drops in new orders and production levels. The November reading was in line with analysts' expectations.

China's Caixin manufacturing PMI reached 51.5 points in November, up from 50.3 points in October. This marks the second consecutive month of improvement, signalling a slight economic recovery in China as government stimulus packages begin to take effect.

India's manufacturing activity slowed in November, with the PMI dropping to 56.5 points from 57.5 points in October. This reading is below expectations of 57.3 points and marks the lowest level in 8 months, matching September's figure.

Data on new home construction from Australia was also released today. In October, nearly 15,500 new homes were approved for construction, the highest number of approvals since December 2022. The number of permits rose by 4.2% after a 5.8% increase in September.

Australia's retail sales report for October showed a larger-than-expected increase. Retail sales rose by 0.6% month-on-month in October, following a 0.1% rise in September and a 0.7% increase in August. This result exceeded expectations of a 0.4% month-on-month increase.

On the cryptocurrency market, a slight correction is observed in the first part of the day. Bitcoin is down 0.90% to $96,200, and Ethereum is down 0.85% to $3,678. Over the weekend, Bitcoin remained relatively stable within the $96,000–$98,000 range, while smaller projects experienced growth. The market capitalization of other altcoins (excluding BTC and ETH) exceeded $1 trillion.

Cryptocurrency projects related to payments are once again posting significant gains. Hedera and XRP are up by over 25%, bringing total gains since the elections to nearly 500%.