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January 24th, British consumer confidence fell sharply in January, falling to the lowest level in more than a year, as soaring government borrowing costs and layoff warnings hit economic confidence. The latest data showed that GfKs consumer confidence index fell 5 points to -22, the lowest level since the end of 2023. Consumer confidence is a forward-looking indicator of household spending-a more pessimistic sentiment means that people are more inclined to save rather than make large purchases. Although wage growth has exceeded the inflation rate throughout 2024, households have accumulated a lot of savings last year, limiting the recovery of spending. Neil Bellamy, director of consumer insights at NIQ GfK, pointed out that peoples confidence in the overall UK economy has fallen particularly sharply. He said: "These data highlight that consumers are losing confidence in the prospects of the UK economy."The UK Gfk consumer confidence index in January was -22, the lowest since December 2023.Monetary Authority of Singapore: Will slightly lower the slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate policy range.The UK Gfk Consumer Confidence Index in January was -22, expected to be -18, and the previous value was -17.On January 24, Japans core inflation rate rose to 3% year-on-year in December, a 16-month high, which increased the possibility of the Bank of Japan raising interest rates. The latest data released in December means that Japans core inflation rate has reached or exceeded the Bank of Japans 2% target for 33 consecutive months. In addition, the countrys overall inflation rate was 3.6%, a sharp increase from 2.9% in November, reaching the highest level since January 2023. The data came out when the Bank of Japan was scheduled to announce its interest rate decision today. The strong inflation data provides the Bank of Japan with more room to raise interest rates.

Hang Seng Index, ASX200, Nikkei 225: Hang Seng Leads the Way

Florala Chen

Feb 16, 2023 15:59

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Market Overview

It was a bullish morning session. US retail sales figures for January impressed on Wednesday. Retail sales surged by 3.0% in January. Economists forecast a 1.8% increase. Retail sales had fallen for two consecutive months before January’s marked increase in consumption. Following the pickup in US service sector activity, the latest stats muted fears of a US economic recession.


The NASDAQ Composite Index rose by 0.92% on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 seeing gains of 0.11% and 0.28%, respectively.


Significantly, the latest numbers from the US failed to fuel fears of more aggressive Fed policy moves to bring inflation to target. The markets are betting on the Fed pushing rates above 5%. Investors will likely stomach rates above 5% if the US avoids a recession.

ASX 200

The ASX 200 was up 0.72%. Employment numbers for January disappointed this morning. Australia’s unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.7%, weighed by a 43.3k slump in full employment. The increase came despite a fall in the participation rate from 66.6% to 66.5%. While the numbers were disappointing, a higher unemployment rate could force the RBA to rethink its immediate policy goals.


This morning, bank stocks had a mixed session. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) bucked the trend, falling by 0.88%. Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) rose by 0.68%, with National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ Group (ANZ) seeing gains of 0.79% and 0.77%, respectively.


Mining stocks provided support. Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP) were up by 0.60% and 0.50%, respectively, with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) rising by 0.77%. However, Newcrest Mining (NCM) was down by 1.13%.


An overnight pullback in crude oil prices weighed on Woodside Energy Group (WDS) and Santos Ltd (STO), which fell by 0.68% and 1.63%, respectively. WTI was up 0.49% to $79.08 this morning.


However, earnings results were mixed. AMP Ltd (AMP) was down 13.74% on a sharp slide in annual profits, while Telstra Group (TLS) was up 2.05%. Block Inc (SQ2), the first crypto-related ASX listing, was up 9.22%, supported by a Wednesday crypto market rally.

Hang Seng Index

The Hang Seng was up 2.14% this morning. Market reaction to US retail sales figures delivered the bullish morning session.


Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) was up 3.50%, with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988) gaining 3.27%


Bank stocks also found support. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HK:1398) and China Construction Bank (HK: 0939) rose by 1.26% and 0.20%, respectively, with HSBC Holdings PLC up by 0.51%.


CNOOC (HK: 0883) found morning support off the back of a pickup in crude oil prices, rising by 0.79%.

Nikkei 225

The Nikkei 225 was up 0.18% this morning, with a USD/JPY return to 134 levels delivering further support. However, economic indicators pegged the Nikkei 225 back from more solid gains. Core machinery orders and trade data disappointed this morning.


In December, core machinery orders rose by 1.6% versus a forecasted 3.0% increase. Orders fell by 8.3% in November. Year-over-year, core orders were down 6.6% versus a 3.7% fall in November. Japan’s trade deficit widened from ¥1,452 billion to ¥3,497 billion in January. Imports were up 17.8%, while exports increased by a modest 3.5%.


SoftBank Group Corp. (9984) rose by 1.74%, with Fast Retailing Co (9983) gaining 1.93%. Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035) rose by 1.14%, while KDDI Corp (9433) fell by 0.35%. Sony Corp (6758) joined the broader market in the green, gaining 0.51%.

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