Asia stocks mixed after Wall Street rebound
October 4, 2019, 10:35 am

Asia stocks mixed after Wall Street rebound

Tokyo and Hong Kong declined while Sydney gained and Seoul was unchanged on Friday. (File photo AP)

Asian stocks were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded on investor hopes for a US interest rate cut.

Tokyo and Hong Kong declined while Sydney gained and Seoul was unchanged.

US stocks pulled out of a two-day skid sparked by unexpectedly weak manufacturing and hiring data. Markets were hit again Thursday by a survey showing weaker-than-forecast growth in US service industries, but investor hopes were buoyed by growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will cut rates again to shore up economic activity.

“Increased hopes for further interest rate cuts by the Fed look to help stabilize markets into the end of the week,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a report.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost just under 0.1 percent to 21,321.99 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent to 25,973.76.

Seoul’s Kospi edged 0.1 percent lower to 2,030.94 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.2 percent to 6,508.60. Taiwan and New Zealand gained while Singapore declined.

On Wall Street, shares were boosted Thursday by strength in technology industries.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 2,910.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 26,201.04. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, climbed 1.1 percent to 7,872.26.

Microsoft Corp. climbed 1.2 percent. Chipmakers were among the sector’s biggest gainers. Nvidia rose 4.8 percent and Micron Technology added 3.5 percent.

Health care, communication services and industrial stocks also helped power the rebound. Pfizer rose 2.2 percent, Facebook gained 2.7 percent and Boeing rose 1.3 percent.

Investors are wrestling with uncertainty about the economy and the impact of a US-Chinese tariff war.

Adding to their unease, the Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said its non-manufacturing index sank to 52.6 from 56.4 in August. Readings above 50 signal growth, but September’s figures are the lowest since August 2016.

Services account for more than two-thirds of the US economy and have been resilient in the face of the tariff war that is squeezing manufacturers.

The Fed has lowered rates by a quarter-percentage point twice this year in a bid to shield the economy from slowing growth abroad and the effects of the trade war. Investors put the odds the Fed will cut rates again at the end of this month at above 88 percent, according to the CME Group.

The federal government is due to release its own snapshot of the job market on Friday. The Labor Department is expected to report employers added 145,000 jobs last month, up from 130,00 in August, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”