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It has been a tough week in Asia as market jitters around China show no signs of easing. Underwhelming economic data, along with the ever-deepening property crisis, have unnerved investors and taken Asian stocks to their lowest since November.
Missed payments on investment products by a leading Chinese trust firm and a fall in home prices have added to the gloomy outlook for the world’s second-biggest economy.
Zhongzhi Enterprise Group told investors that it was facing a liquidity crisis and will conduct a debt restructuring, two sources told Reuters. This comes after Zhongrong International Trust Co, a leading trust company controlled by Zhongzhi, missed payments on dozens of investment products since late last month.
Investors are having a bit of a deja vu moment with China as sentiment on the country sinks and stock markets loiter at levels just before China reopened its borders late last year. European stocks have been hamstrung too, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index touching a one-month low on Wednesday and eyeing a lower open on Thursday.
With alarm bells ringing all over, investors are back looking for safe assets, taking the U.S. dollar to a two-month peak. Also boosting the dollar was minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting that some analysts viewed as slightly hawkish.
The minutes showed officials were divided over the need for more interest rate hikes. But it’s important to remember that July’s meeting came before a raft of U.S. data that underscored the resilient economy. Where that leaves us in terms of U.S. rates remains to be seen.
Traders still more or less expect the Fed to stand pat next month but have priced in a 36% chance of a hike in November, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Some analysts warn that the market is still under-pricing the chances of another hike.
And we end with some sports news (look away if you are a Matildas’ fan) as England reached their first Women’s World Cup final after beating Australia 3-1, bringing an end to the co-hosts’ fairytale run.
England will face Spain on Sunday, looking to add a world title to last year’s European Championship triumph. Maybe it’s coming home?
Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:
Economic events: Euro zone trade balance, Croatia inflation data, U.S. jobless data
