Stock indices of major Asia-Pacific countries (APR) mostly fell in trading on Thursday.
The exception was the Australian index, which rose amid statistical data showing an improvement in the unemployment rate in the country.
Pressure on other markets again have concerns about the negative impact of China’s tough policy in the fight against coronavirus, notes MarketWatch.
The value of Japanese index Nikkei 225 decreased by 0.35% by close of trading.
The volume of Japanese exports in October increased by 25.3% over the same month last year to 9.002 trillion yen (about $ 64 billion), according to the Ministry of Finance. The rise continues for 20 months in a row. At that, the growth rate slowed down from 28.9% in September.
Analysts on average had expected exports to rise 28.1% last month, according to Trading Economics.
Japanese imports soared 53.5% last month to a record 11.165 trillion yen. Analysts on average had forecast a 49.7% increase after a 45.7% rise in September. The index has been rising at a double-digit percentage rate for 18 consecutive months.
Shares of nonferrous metals producer Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (-5.4%), semiconductor maker Advantest Corp. (-3.1%) and electronics maker Tokyo Electron Ltd. (-3%).
Shares of Hitachi Ltd. rose 0.6%. The company’s unit won a major railroad contract worth about 114 billion yen ($817 million) from the Philippine Department of Transportation.
China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.15% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.2%.
Shares of game developer Netease Inc. (-9.1%), Internet company Meituan (-5.7%) and car dealer Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd. (-5.4%) were among the leaders of the decline on Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Tencent Holdings Ltd. shares declined 0.8 percent. The Chinese internet giant increased its net profit by 1 percent to 39.9 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago because of a cut in expenses.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.4 percent.
One of the world’s biggest chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 2.1%, while automaker Hyundai Motor dropped 1.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.09%.
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.4% in October from 3.5% a month earlier. Experts polled by Trading Economics, on average, forecasted an increase to 3.6%.
Share prices rose in all four major banks in the country: the Commonwealth Bank of Australia – by 0.7%, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group – 0.5%, Westpac Banking – 0.2%, National Australia Bank – 0.9%.
At the same time stock quotes of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto fell by 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal says USAID will support the creation of processing plants in Ukraine starting next year.
“The government is interested in increasing added value, that’s why it already supports the creation of processing enterprises in mid-sized businesses through eRabotka grant programs. According to him, an agreement has been reached with USAID to support this direction from next year,” the government press service said referring to Shmygal.
The prime minister also noted that after the war Ukraine expects a significant inflow of capital.
“Much attention will be paid to projects of public-private partnership, concession and for Ukrainian business will have a key role in this strategy,” the statement said.
Most Western European stock indices are declining in trading on Thursday, despite the weakening of geopolitical risks.
The exception is the German indicator.
By 11:30 a.m. Ksk the Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the largest companies in the region had declined 0.16% to 429.50 points.
The British indicator FTSE 100 lost 0.5%, the French CAC 40 – 0.3%, the Italian FTSE MIB – 0.2%, the Spanish IBEX 35 – 0.3%. Meanwhile, Germany’s DAX stock index rose 0.35%.
Traders continue to evaluate quarterly company reports and statistical data.
Automobile sales in the European Union in October rose 12.2% year on year to 745,855,000, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
The increase was marked the third month in a row, before that the figure was declining for thirteen months in a row.
Shares of ThyssenKrupp AG went down in price by 1.6%. The German industrial group, the largest steelmaker in the country, increased its net profit in the fourth fiscal quarter by 3.4 times and announced that it will pay dividends for the first time in four years.
Britain’s Burberry Group Plc, one of the world’s leading makers of luxury goods, increased pre-tax profits and revenue in the first fiscal quarter and reaffirmed its medium-term outlook. Its securities added 0.05%.
The leader of the fall among the components of the index Stoxx Europe 600 are papers of the British online retailer Ocado Group PLC, which fell in price by 6.1%.
The leaders of the growth are shares of German Siemens AG, which added 6.8%. The company increased its dividend after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ forecasts.
Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest will invest $500 million as an anchor investor in one of the green energy-focused investment funds now being formed by Black Rock to rebuild Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostislav Shurma said at the Kyiv International Economic Forum on Thursday.
“Now there should be the first anchors who will invest the first hundreds of millions of dollars and show by their real actions that they believe in Ukraine. There is an Australian multibillionaire, the second richest man in Australia, Andrew Forrest, founder of Fortescue, one of the largest mining companies in the world, one of the largest investors in hydrogen technology, has publicly committed to invest the first $500 million in one of the funds that Black Rock is now preparing,” Shurma said.
According to him, the size of the fund is still difficult to name exactly, but it is estimated between $25 billion and $100 billion.
The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has signed a memorandum of technical assistance with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), head of the State Geology Service Roman Opimakh said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“The document provides for work on digitization of secondary geological information, the development of IT architecture and the functionality of the State Geology Portal,” Opimakh wrote.
The memorandum was signed with EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink as part of the Raw Materials Week, which is taking place in Brussels with the support of the European Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine. The signing took place in the presence of the Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič and the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets.
According to the document, the EBRD is the executor, the State Geology Service is the key beneficiary, and specialists of the State Research and Development Enterprise State Geological Information Fund of Ukraine (Geoinform of Ukraine) are the contractors of the project, the head of Ukraine’s Geology Service noted.
“The work is designed for three years and provides for the purchase of equipment and the arrangement of a server room in the first half of 2023 – ventilation, physical access, uninterrupted power supply,” Opimakh informed.
Also next year, at least 20,000 geological information storage units will be digitized and published on the State Geology Portal in accordance with the best world practices.
“The implementation of the project will not only digitize and place secondary geological information in the public domain, but also significantly improve the interface for searching geological reports through interactive maps that will be posted on the State Geology Portal,” the head emphasized.
At the same time, the translation of abstracts, reports and an English-language search engine will become convenient tools for foreign investors interested in the development of Ukrainian subsoil.
According to Opimakh, the key objectives of the project are, in particular, digitization of at least 60,000 units of storage of geological reports, the development of IT infrastructure, the creation of English-language services of databases for managing geological information, the arrangement of a server room, as well as the development of the functionality of the State Geology Portal by creating sets of geological maps and cartographic services of the geological knowledge of the territory of Ukraine.
“The next step will be the signing of an agreement on the provision of technical assistance and the coordination of parameters for the volume and time of work,” the head said.
Verkhnedniprovsk casting and mechanical plant PJSC (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) increased its net profit by 2.9 times in 2021 in comparison with the previous year – up to UAH 5.823 mln.
According to the company announcement in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission on the remote annual meeting of shareholders on December 20, the undistributed profits of the company at the end of last year reached 105,4 thousand UAH.
The shareholders intend to summarize the company’s results in 2021, approve the report and approve significant deals of the company.
Verkhnedniprovskiy Casting and Mechanical Plant PJSC was founded in 1898 and is one of the largest Ukrainian producers of alloys and non-ferrous metals products. Current capacity of stamped and die-cast shops exceeds 100 tons of finished products per month. Availability of all necessary infrastructure and vertical integration of the enterprise allow the plant to implement large customized projects for manufacturing enterprises not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe, Asia and America.
According to the NDU, as of the fourth quarter of 2021, a physical person Andrey Cherniy owns 50% of shares in PrJSC, another physical person Anastasia Fedorova – 49.4187%.
The authorized capital of PrJSC is 2 279,5 thousand UAH, the nominal value of one share is 1,05 UAH.
Source: https://vlmz.com/
