Weekly Market Review: 05/08 – 08/08

Weekly Market Reviews for Asia, Europe, and USA:
5 Aug 2019 to 8 Aug 2019.

Asia - Down

China let the Yuan slide which increased trade war tensions between the US and China. It hit a decade low of 7 Yuan per dollar. Tension further increased after USA called China a “currency manipulator.” 

Additionally, China’s exports to the USA fell by 8% from $38.8 Billion, while China’s imports from the USA fell by 28% to $10.8 Billion. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.15% while the Topic Index declined 0.1%.

Meanwhile South Korea saw the Kospi rose 0.63% as shares of Hyundai Motor jumped 1.57%. 

Over in Australia, S&P/ASX 200 slipped over 0.75%. Huawei reported a 23% increase in revenue after it reported gains in its 5G business despite being blacklisted by the USA. 

USA - Down

On Monday, Markets contracted after the S&P 500 dropped over 50 points and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 600 points which marked the worst day of the year. This was as a result of China deciding to level up their currency to increase exports and escalating trade war tensions between the US and China.

Furthermore, Apple Inc. dropped 5% after China’s currency devaluation but their stock is recovering after news of their production lines relying upto 30% less on China. Additionally, Alphabet Inc. dropped 4.5% after a market retreat on Monday.

The Federal Reserve cut their interest rates after a decade. Facebook, Alphabet, Snap Inc. and Twitter Inc. were under pressure after an increased fear of government oversight after mass shootings over the weekend.

Walt Disney Shares fell over 4% after the company reported lower than expected earnings. 

In other news, Amazon stock dropped 6% over 3 days after Jeff Bezos sold nearly $3 Billion worth of Amazon shares at a rate of 300,000 per day. P&G recorded a quarterly loss after Gillette shaving products’ value dropped by $8 Billion. This was partly due to a fashion for beards among younger men. 

America’s Justice Department approved the T-Mobile and Sprint merger after an agreement made by the 3 that they sell some assets to Dish to increase overall market competition. 

Europe - Down

The Eurozone’s economy grew at an annual rate of only 0.8% in the second quarter. An Inflation rate of 1.1% did not meet the European central bank’ target of 2%. Euro stoxx 50 dropped over 170 points in the last week. This is as a result of China strengthening their currency. Euro STOXX 600 rose 0.6% after a bearish market on Monday.

HSBC’s shares dropped 1% after the departure of CEO John Flint just after 18 months while Macquarie Infrastructure bought Currenta from German chemical groups, Bayer and Lanxess for a price of € 3.5 Billion. Both the company’s shares rose by 3% and 1.7%.

Italian Bank UniCredit cut its revenue target for 2019 because they believed that interest rates would remain low. On the other hand, shares of Banco BPM jumped 3% after it reported a steep rise in profit.

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Written by

Cheryl Toh

Last updated on

August 8th 2019, 5:53 pm

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