The exchange rate of US dollar weakly changes on Wednesday morning against major world currencies as investors await the outcome of the mid-term elections to the U.S. Congress.
The ICE index which shows the trend of the US dollar against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, British pound and Swedish krona) is growing by less than 0.1%. Over the past three sessions, the indicator has fallen nearly 3%.
The euro/dollar pair was trading at $1.0073 by 7:55 a.m. qtr. versus $1.0075 at the close of Tuesday’s session.
The dollar/yen is up less than 0.1% at 145.77 yen from 145.69 yen at the end of last session.
The pound is trading at $1.1541, up from $1.1546 at the close of previous trading.
The Republican Party is expected to outperform Democrats in the midterm elections for U.S. Congress, according to U.S. media forecasts. According to CNN’s preliminary forecast, Republicans hold 176 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, while Democrats have 121 seats. Politico predicts 158 seats for Republicans and 99 for Democrats. One party needs 218 seats out of 435 to control the House of Representatives.
In the Senate election, CNN and Politico predict that Republicans and Democrats are tied at 46 seats each. Republicans need 51 seats to control the Senate – with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Democratic Party, having the right to vote in controversial situations.
In addition, market participants are waiting for data on October inflation in the U.S., which may influence the Fed’s decision. The report will be released Thursday, and analysts polled by Trading Economics on average expect it to point to a slowdown in inflation in October to 8% from September’s 8.2%.
Meanwhile, the mainland yuan gained 0.1% to 7.2445 per $1, while the offshore yuan, which is traded in Hong Kong, strengthened 0.2% to 7.2459 per $1.
China’s inflation slowed in October to its lowest level since May, we learned Wednesday. Consumer prices (CPI) rose 2.1 percent year on year last month after climbing 2.8 percent in September, while analysts on average had expected a more moderate slowdown to 2.4 percent.
Compared with the previous month, consumer prices in the PRC rose 0.1% in October after rising 0.3% a month earlier. Experts predicted that the growth rate would remain at the September level.
Stock indices of Asia-Pacific region (APR) countries do not show unified dynamics during the trading on Wednesday.
Investors are evaluating statistical data from China and waiting for the results of the US Congressional elections.
Meanwhile, the markets are pressed by the worsening situation with a coronavirus in China, which increases fears about potential new lockdowns in the country, writes Trading Economics.
The value of Japan’s Nikkei 225 index by 7:23 a.m. decreased by 0.6%.
The most significant decrease among the components of the indicator was demonstrated by quotations of shares of Nintendo Co. Ltd. (-7.5%). The Japanese manufacturer of game consoles and video games the day before reported a 34% increase in net profit in the first fiscal half, but worsened its annual sales forecast for the Switch console amid a lack of semiconductors.
Shares of several automakers are also down, including Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (-5%), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (-0.9%) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (-0.9%).
China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.4% by 7:35 a.m. and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.3%.
The rate of inflation in China slowed in October to its lowest level since May this year. Consumer prices (CPI) rose 2.1% year-on-year last month after climbing 2.8% in September, according to China’s State Bureau of Statistics (SBS).
Analysts on average had expected growth to slow to 2.4 percent, according to Trading Economics.
China’s producer prices (PPI) declined 1.3% year on year last month after rising 0.9% in September. The analysts’ consensus forecast was for a 1.5% decline. Prices fell for the first time since December 2020 amid weak domestic demand and disruptions in production due to tight anti-commodity restrictions.
Leading the decline on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange were shares of biopharmaceutical Wuxi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. (-5.9%), electric car maker BYD Co. Ltd. (-5.8%) and automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (-4.4%).
In addition, shares of Tencent (SPB: 700) Holdings Ltd. fell 3.6% and retailer Alibaba (SPB: BABA) Group dropped 1.3%.
South Korea’s Kospi index had gained 1% by 7:33 a.m.
One of the world’s largest chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. was up 0.5%, while carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.3%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6%.
Share prices of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto increased by 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively.
The Club of Experts YouTube channel has released another video announcing the events which will take place in Ukraine and in the world from November 7 to 13, 2022. In the new release the founder of the Club of experts Maksim Urakin and co-host Olga Levkun analyzed the main events planned for the nearest future.
This week in Ukraine there will be a number of events devoted to the development of business, the implementation of new technologies in the agricultural sector, IT-innovations and other topics. Among these events we should mention the presentation of a free support tool for Ukrainians on digital security – Nadiyno online platform, as well as the Ukrainian-Slovak Business Forum to be held in Uzhgorod.
In the world this week there will also be a number of major conferences and forums. Several meetings of the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be held in Brussels to discuss the EU budget for the next year; on November 10-11 in Washington the International Monetary Fund will hold its annual research conference devoted to the world economy; and in France there will be the Paris Peace Forum, designed to bring together heads of state, representatives of international organizations, business leaders and civil society. November 13, Bali will also host the Business 20 Summit (B20) on the theme “Promoting innovative, inclusive and shared growth,” which will be a prologue to the main global political event of this autumn: the G20 Summit.
The main sporting events in the next seven days will be the basketball qualifying matches for the World Championship and the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix. Read more details about the future sports events on the portal Sport.ua. The full version of the video can be viewed at the link:
Subscribe to the Club of Experts channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4plQ0XBaoLOKPIXrb1aMGQ.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CLUB_EXPERTS, EVENTS, URAKIN, ЛЕВКУН, МАКСИМ_УРАКИН
US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield has arrived in Ukraine on a visit, said Nate Evans, Director of Communications and Press Secretary of the US Mission to the UN.
“The US Ambassador to the UN is in Kyiv for a day of meetings to reaffirm the unwavering US support for Ukraine as it defends its freedom and sovereignty in the face of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion,” Evans tweeted on Tuesday.
While in Kyiv, Thomas-Greenfield will meet with Ukrainian government leaders to discuss the unwavering US commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, according to the US Embassy in Ukraine. She will oversee efforts to document and preserve evidence of atrocities committed by Russian forces and hear first-hand accounts from survivors.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will also discuss the global food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion and stress the urgent need to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative into next year. She will also meet with humanitarian organizations working to meet the winterization needs of vulnerable populations affected by Russian attacks on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
The Cabinet of Ministers has exempted generators, transformers and other goods important for the heating season from VAT and import duties, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said.
“Today the Cabinet of Ministers will approve a resolution, thanks to which important goods for the passage of this heating season will be exempt from payment of VAT and import duty,” Shmygal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.
These include gas generators, electric motors and generators, electric generating sets and rotating electrical converters, transformers, electric batteries, electric water heaters and heaters, and some other energy and heat supply goods.
“This is important to speed up repairs now, improve light and heat supply, meet public demand and reduce prices of related products,” he added.
The limited volume of gross absorption led to an increase in the level of vacant space by 3.5 percentage points (p.p.), to 21.2% over the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, the press service of CBRE Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, as follows from a review of office real estate by CBRE Ukraine, in July-September the trend of the two previous quarters of limited rental activity continued. In the third quarter, this figure was only 12,000 square meters, which is 80% less than at the beginning of the year. Most of the transactions involved the extension or renegotiation of contracts and the reduction of existing office space.
“Subleasing is becoming more and more common, with tenants willing to sublease parts of their offices to optimize rent or operating costs due to low occupancy rates. Depending on the terms of the lease, subleasing is most often the solution if leases cannot be terminated. However, the volume of sublease agreements concluded remains low due to limited rental activity in the market,” Diana Kvitchuk, Head of Marketing and Research at CBRE Ukraine, is quoted in the message.
Net absorption has remained negative for three quarters in a row – over the third quarter, it is minus 74,000 square meters.
Analysts at CBRE Ukraine estimate that negative net absorption is likely to persist until the end of 2022, but is expected to slow down towards the end of the year.
In the third quarter, not a single new business center was put on the market, so the total supply of offices in Kyiv did not change and amounted to about 2.11 million square meters. About 23,500 square meters are planned for commissioning by the end of the year – in Unit.City B15 and Unit.City B6.
Low market activity led to rate cuts. The prime rental rate has decreased on average by 8-10%, from $25 to $22-23 per square meter/month since the beginning of the year. Rental rates in class A ranged from $18 to $26 (less by 7% of lower limit), in class B – from $7 to $17 (less by 22% of lower limit and less by 15% of upper limit).
“Requested rental rates are not indicative now, since the actual or effective terms of the agreements are often significantly lower than the declared ones and the difference can be from minus 20% to minus 50% of the declared ones,” Kvitchuk said.
In order to maintain occupancy and income streams, landlords continue to provide discounts, special lease terms or incentives, up to “free” rent, to attract new tenants or keep existing tenants looking to move, she said.
