Asian stocks drop after Japan GDP amid stronger yen |
- Asian stocks drop after Japan GDP amid stronger yen
- Van Niekerk smashes Johnson’s Olympics record to win 400m
- Reuters Video: Pokemon ‘goes’ to Myanmar
- Robles wins first US Olympics weightlifting medal in 16 years
- Talk of shifting funds away from Trump premature-Republican official (VIDEO)
- No drama for Genzebe Dibaba in Olympics 1500m semis
| Asian stocks drop after Japan GDP amid stronger yen Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:30 PM PDT
Stocks in Tokyo drove the retreat, with markets in South Korea and India shut today for holidays. The yen held near its strongest level in more than a week versus the dollar after data showed Japan's economy grew less than was forecast in the second quarter, spurring speculation over the country's already unprecedented stimulus programme. Ten-year debt in Australia and New Zealand climbed as gold snapped a two-day drop. US crude rose for a third day, while nickel tried to rebound from its worst rout since early July. Investors are oscillating when it comes to the global outlook, with evidence of uneven growth in the world's biggest economies both unnerving traders and fueling optimism that central banks will come to the rescue by way of stimulus. Data showing stagnant retail sales and an unexpected drop in wholesale prices helped keep a lid on US rate hike bets Friday, with policy maker James Bullard also fueling the fire. The Fed Bank of St. Louis President said he had become more dovish over the past six months and that he expects a single US rate increase over his policy horizon. "The US economy may have lost a bit of momentum on its way up," said Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre. "Still, weak numbers mean concern over tightening recedes," he said. Japan posted annualised expansion for the second quarter of 0.2 per cent, below the 0.7 per cent projected by economists and down from 2 per cent growth in the first six months of the year. Officials in Asia's second-largest economy are struggling to ignite price growth, with the central bank running negative interest rates and an unprecedented asset-purchase programme, and the government also bolstering fiscal stimulus. Data on Japanese industrial output is also due Monday, along with an update on Thai GDP and Singaporean retail sales. Indonesia reports on trade and the Philippines issues data on remittances. Stocks The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.4 per cent as of 10am Tokyo time, led lower by mining stocks after a 4 per cent tumble in nickel prices Friday dragged the London Metal Exchange Metals Index down the most since the end of June. The Asia-Pacific gauge rose to its highest level since August 11, 2015 last session. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index swung between gains and losses, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 0.1 per cent, holding around a record high. In Japan, the Topix index slipped 0.2 per cent amid trading volumes almost 40 per cent below the 30-day average. "The road ahead may be bumpy but Asian equities ex-Japan are relatively undervalued, under owned and under appreciated," Vasu Menon, vice president for wealth management research at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, said by phone. "It could do better than other regions over the next few years once we see greater stability in China and greater clarity with Fed policy." Futures on the S&P 500 Index added 0.1 per cent to 2,182, after the underlying stock measure gave up that amount on Friday, falling from a record high. Contracts on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 per cent in most recent trade, while those on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index were little changed. FTSE China A50 Index futures declined 0.7 per cent early Monday. Currencies The yen was little changed at 101.41 per dollar after gaining 0.7 per cent on Friday, bringing its advance in the week to 0.5 per cent. Japan's currency has strengthened 19 per cent this year, the biggest gain among the majors behind a 24 per cent jump in the Brazilian real, as stimulus efforts fail to make their mark. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, was also steady following a 0.1 per cent drop last session. Some commodity-linked currencies retreated, with the New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Canada's Loonie and the Malaysian ringgit all down at least 0.2 per cent despite crude's advance. Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.5 per cent to US$44.70 (RM 180.36) a barrel, after rising 6.4 per cent last week, its best performance since April. Saudi Arabia signaled last week that it's prepared to discuss stabilising markets at informal Opec discussions in September. Venezuela's oil and foreign ministers will visit producer countries to lobby for price increases ahead of the talks, President Nicolas Maduro said. Nickel eked out a 0.2 per cent climb in London, following Friday's slide, while copper swung between gains and losses and zinc slipped 0.2 per cent. Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.1 per cent to US$1,336.95 an ounce after losing 0.8 per cent over the previous two sessions as equities gained. Silver and platinum also advanced. — Bloomberg  |
| Van Niekerk smashes Johnson’s Olympics record to win 400m Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:29 PM PDT
Van Niekerk, running in the unfavoured lane eight, blasted off the final corner to time 43.03sec, 0.15sec quicker than Johnson's previous world best set in Seville in 1999. Defending champion Kirani James of Grenada took silver in 43.76sec, with American Lashawn Merritt bronze (43.85). Despite Van Niekerk being world champion, his underwhelming heat runs had meant all eyes were on James and Merritt. The Grenadian set off fast in lane five, Merritt on his coat-tails on the inside with Van Niekerk running solo out wide. The trio had produced one of the races of the year in the 400m final at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, all going under 44 seconds as the South African won the fastest one-lap race of all time. And it was the same again in Rio, Van Niekerk exploding around the last bend and holding his form through the line in an exceptional run. "I have never seen anything like that," Johnson told BBC, for whom he works as an analyst. "It is amazing. That was a massacre by Van Niekerk. This young man has done something truly special. He could go under 43 seconds — I tried and failed. "Being out in lane eight helped him, he was away from James and Merritt. He was running a time-trial. "That was some style he broke it in," Johnson said of Van Niekerk, who made sprint history by becoming the first athlete to dip under benchmark times in the 100, 200 and 400m. Having already clocked 19.94 seconds and 43.48sec in the 200 and 400m, Van Niekerk timed 9.98sec in the 100m in March to set an athletics first. — AFP |
| Reuters Video: Pokemon ‘goes’ to Myanmar Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:26 PM PDT Duration: 1:06, Published 15 Aug 2016 Gamers in Myanmar catch Pokemon fever even though the game has not been officially launched in their country. Diane Hodges reports. — Reuters |
| Robles wins first US Olympics weightlifting medal in 16 years Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:25 PM PDT
Robles claimed bronze in the women's +75kg, behind Chinese gold medallist Meng Suping, just over a year after returning to competitive action following her suspension for taking anabolic steroids. The 28-year-old lifted a combined total of 286kg to become the first American since the Sydney 2000 Games to step on the weightlifting podium as North Korea's Kim Kuk-Hyang took silver. Robles faced opposition from other American weightlifters who have opposed her inclusion in US weightlifting teams since she returned from her ban in August 2015. "There's been opposition here and there. I knew going into the squad that I was going to have to be like teflon," she told reporters afterwards. "Sometimes you read negative comments about yourself that aren't nice but I know what I'm about and I know work hard and I know that I'm a good an honest person. "I knew that as soon as I was eligible to compete again I would have to hit the ground running," Robles added. Asked what she did during her ban she answered: "I got a job like a grown up. "I was basically training and working three jobs. I worked as a receiving person at Home Depot, I worked as a sign changer at Macy's, I was a receptionist at a veterinary hospital. "I was doing a lot of little things all over the place," explained Robles, who now receives funding and trains full-time as a weightlifter. Robles snatched 126 and lifted 160 in the clean and jerk. Tara Nott and Cheryl Haworth won America's last Olympic weightlifting medals. "I'm so glad to be included in this select few," said Robles. Meng, who only got called up to the Chinese team at the last minute, lifted a combined total of 307kg, to finish just 1kg ahead of North Korean Kim. The 27-year-old Meng's first-place finish was China's fifth weightlifting gold medal of Rio 2016 and they are set to top the medals table for the fifth year running. "I did my duty for my country and for my team," said Meng. She lifted 130kg in the snatch and 177kg with her final clean and jerk to push a devastated Kim into second place. "I was sad that I couldn't make gold said," said a tearful Kim who refused to answer more than one question. The North Korean served a doping ban from November 2012 to November 2014. — AFP |
| Talk of shifting funds away from Trump premature-Republican official (VIDEO) Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:24 PM PDT WASHINGTON, Aug 15 — A senior official with the Republican National Committee yesterday played down the prospect that the party would cut off cash and logistical support to White House nominee Donald Trump in order to shift resources toward congressional races. Last week 70 Republicans wrote a letter urging the RNC to stop helping Trump and to focus instead on candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives. The letter, signed by former members both of Congress and RNC staff, said Trump's actions were "divisive and dangerous" and posed a threat to the party and the country.
Sean Spicer, RNC communications director, said in a telephone interview that abandoning Trump with nearly three months to go to the Nov. 8 election "doesn't make logical sense." In October 1996 the RNC moved money from the presidential race to congressional candidates after Republican nominee Bob Dole fell far behind Democratic President Bill Clinton in opinion polls. But Spicer said giving up on Trump could be harmful to other Republican candidates and there was still time for him to rebound in opinion polls against Democrat Hillary Clinton. "Number one, you need a strong top of the ticket. That's number one. Number two, we're only six points down," Spicer said, referring to the gap that Clinton has opened up against Trump in some national polls. Clinton led Trump by more than five percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. Clinton has strong leads in hotly contested states such as Pennsylvania and New Hampshire and some polls show her within a few percentage points of Trump in some states such as Georgia that normally lean strongly Republican. Any discussions of cutting off funds to Trump in August would be "ridiculous," Spicer said. Trump has polarized the party with his vow to build a wall on the US-Mexico border and his plan to impose a temporary ban on Muslims seeking to enter the country. Trump has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for a prolonged feud with the Muslim family of a fallen US Army captain and his assertion last week that President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had co-founded the Islamic State militant group. — Reuters |
| No drama for Genzebe Dibaba in Olympics 1500m semis Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:20 PM PDT
The world champion, whose Somali coach was arrested in Spain in June as part of an investigation into drug trafficking, produced a last-lap kick to clock the fastest qualifying time of 4min 03.06sec, more than 13 seconds slower than her own world record. Dibaba will be accompanied by team-mates Dawit Seyaum, world junior champion in 2014, and Besu Sado. Also qualifying for Tuesday's final were Britain's Laura Weightman and American Shannon Rowbury. The duo also competed in the 1500m at the 2012 London Games from which six of the top nine finishers have since been banned for doping. — AFP |
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