Asian share markets found a semblance of calm on Monday as S&P futures extended their bounce, though bond investors were still fretting about the risks from looming US inflation data.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.8 per cent, having suffered a 7.3 per cent drubbing last week.
Both South Korea and China gained 0.8 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent, adding to a late bounce on Friday. Yet a relatively sharp 12 tick drop in Treasury bond futures suggested it was too early to sound an all-clear on volatility.
“A massive build-up in market leverage has been partially unwound in the blink of an eye and morphed into something far more broad-based,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at broker IG.
“One could argue that it is the US bond market that is the driving force, and will remain so through this coming week.”
Particularly challenging will be US consumer price data on Wednesday given it was fears of faster inflation, and thus more aggressive rate rises, that triggered the global rout in the first place.
Median forecasts are for consumer price inflation to slow a little to 1.9 per cent in January, mainly due to the base effect of a high reading in January 2017, while the core measure is seen ticking down to 1.7 per cent.
A result in line with or below expectations would likely be a big relief, while anything higher could well spook investors, lift bond yields and batter stocks.
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Read more:
Global stocks fall nearly 6% in worst trading week of two years on fears of higher interest rates
Billionaires keep calm and carry on as red tide rolls in
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Aziz Sunderji, an economist at Barclays, suspects the inflation scare will prove to be transitory.
“Tight jobs markets will pressure wages upwards, but technology, automation, and globalisation are important – and slow moving – forces acting in the opposite direction,” Mr Sunderji argued in a note to clients.
“Paradigms don’t shift on a dime. In our view, the recent market turmoil is a bump in the road, not a wholesale change of direction.”
But what a bump it was. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 5.2 percent last week, its biggest decline since January 2016. Ninety-six S&P 500 stocks were down 20 per cent or more from their own one-year highs, according to Thomson Reuters data.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s high-flying shares shed almost 10 per cent for the week, while Japan lost 8.1 per cent and South Korea 6.4 per cent.
The pivotal gauge of S&P 500 volatility, the VIX, remained relatively elevated at 29 per cent.
Yields on US 10-year Treasury paper touched a four-year top of 2.885 per cent, moving ever further above the S&P 500’s dividend yield of 2.34 per cent.
The ascent of yields offered some support to the US dollar, which gained 1.4 per cent on a basket of currencies last week to currently stand at 90.186.
The euro clawed back 0.3 per cent to $1.2276 on Monday, after losing 1.8 per cent last week.
Carry currencies, including the Australian dollar and many emerging market currencies, were also casualties of the rush from risk, which in turn benefited safe harbours such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
The dollar was hovering at ¥108.65, having fallen 1.3 per cent last week.
Commodities were also paring their losses, with gold 0.6 per cent firmer at $1,323.76 an ounce and off a five-week low of $1,306.81.
Brent crude futures rallied 47 cents to $63.26 a barrel, while US crude for April added 54 cents to $59.74. Brent lost nearly 9 per cent last week and US crude dropped 10 per cent, the steepest falls since January 2016.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
