NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (Reuters) – If India needed any more proof that it was in the midst of a huge housing boom, it got in this week’s GDP data, heightening expectations that the industry will continue to power the economy for years to come.
The construction sector grew 13.3% in July-September from a year earlier, up from 7.9% in the previous quarter and its best performance in five quarters, the data released on Thursday showed.
That helped India expand at a forecast-beating 7.6%, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. In contrast, Western economies have been squeezed by high interest rates and energy prices, while China has been hobbled by a debt crisis in its property sector.
The long-awaited boom – which has created millions of jobs – comes after about six years of debt and pandemic-induced downturn before the construction sector began improving last year and hitting its stride this year. It has been driven by rising incomes for many Indians, a severe housing shortage in big cities and strong population growth.
The world’s most populous nation had an urban housing shortage of around 19 million units last year – and that is expected to double by 2030, according to government estimates.
“The robust growth in construction has significantly contributed to the economic growth – and is likely to play the same role in next couple of quarters,” said Sunil Sinha, an economist at India Ratings and Research, an arm of rating agency Fitch.
Builders are bullish long-term with many saying the boom could last two to three years and some even more optimistic.
“The housing market could continue to perform well for another three to four years,” Sanjeev Jain, managing director at Parsvnath Developers, a leading real estate company, noting that India is in the initial stages of a housing growth cycle.
Home sales in India’s seven largest cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, rocketed 36% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier to more than 112,000 units, despite an 8%-18% increase in prices, according to real estate consultancy Anarock.
There was also a 24% increase in new residential projects being launched, data from the consultancy showed.
“The home sales are driven by first-time buyers, and nearly 80% of the houses have been bought by end users,” said Prashant Thakur, head of research at Anarock, adding that there was also strong demand from existing home owners to move to more spacious apartments.
In Mumbai, for example, demand has been strong despite an increase in interest rates of about two percentage points, according to Jayesh Rathod, director of Mumbai-based Guardian Real Estate Advisory.
His company has sold over 5,500 flats in Mumbai and on its outskirts in Thane so far this year, a jump of more than 50% compared to the same period a year ago, he said.
Underpinning demand has been salary hikes for workers in big cities. Average hikes for sectors such as e-commerce, healthcare, retail and logistics have remained above 10% for a second straight year, according to EY estimates.
Home prices in India are expected to rise faster than consumer inflation next year, according to a Reuters poll, with property analysts saying growth will be driven by higher earners snapping up newly built luxury residences in cities.
Housing demand has also picked up significantly in smaller cities in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, according to construction companies who say demand has been spurred by increases in incomes and the migration of workers from rural areas.
The government is also trying to boost the availability of affordable housing by providing subsidies, which is encouraging construction in India’s smaller towns and cities.
Shares in property companies have naturally surged.
The Nifty realty index (.NIFTYREAL) is up some 67% for the year to date compared with a 12% gain for the blue-chip Nifty 50 index.
Notable gainers include Prestige Estates Projects (PREG.NS) which has jumped some 120%, DLF (DLF.NS) which has climbed 67% and Godrej Properties (GODR.NS) which is up 52%.
($1 = 83.3143 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Additional reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Ira Dugal and Edwina Gibbs
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Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during his regular press conference where he said that his government will help Cuba, including providing it with oil, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico October 16, 2023. Mexico Presidency/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights
MEXICO CITY/COPENHAGEN, Nov 24 (Reuters) – A Danish fund will invest $10 billion in a development hub in southern Mexico to produce green hydrogen for ships and to replace fossil fuel use, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.
One of Lopez Obrador’s key infrastructure projects is the development of an industrial corridor connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in Mexico’s poorer south.
“It is a financial economic fund from Denmark, they are going to invest in a development hub (…) $10 billion, because they are going to produce green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels,” the president told a press conference.
In August, Lopez Obrador said that Danish asset manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) was going to begin construction of a green hydrogen plant in the southern port of Salina Cruz to supply ships with the fuel.
At the time, the president did not mention the size of the investment, and a spokesperson for CIP said on Friday that its plans for Mexico were known.
“We can confirm that we are involved in a large-scale green hydrogen project in the Oaxaca region in Mexico. Further development will take place in collaboration with local authorities and partners,” CIP said when contacted on Friday. “We will provide further updates as the project progresses.”
The CIP spokesperson said they did not know whether Lopez Obrador was talking about the same project on Friday and declined to confirm the sum he cited as its planned investment.
Lopez Obrador, a strong proponent of fossil fuels since taking office in late 2018, said that new vessels around the world will use the green hydrogen obtained through wind and solar energy via electrolysis.
“We are talking about the era of non-pollution, of everything being done to prevent climate change,” the president added, without providing further details on the investment or its timeline.
Denmark’s embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s comments.
Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City and Johannes Birkebaek in Copenhagen; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Alistair Bell
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A gas pump selling E15, a gasoline with 15 percent of ethanol, is seen in Mason City, Iowa, United States, May 18, 2015. Over the past few months, privately held retailers Kum & Go and Sheetz have become the first significant chains to announce plans to start selling E15, 50 percent more than the typical U.S. blend. REUTERS/Jim… Acquire Licensing Rights
Nov 24 (Reuters) – The White House is stalling action on requests by Farm Belt states to allow regional sales of gasoline blended with higher volumes of ethanol after oil industry warnings that the move could cause regional supply disruptions and price spikes, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The decision underscores concerns within President Joe Biden’s administration over fuel prices, as opinion polls show inflation and the economy as key vulnerabilities for his 2024 re-election bid. In an NBC News poll released on Sunday, just 38% of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the economy.
Governors from eight Midwestern states – Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin – petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency last year to let them sell gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, or E15, all year, arguing it would help them lower pump prices that soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The EPA last March issued a proposal that would approve the request by the governors. The agency subsequently missed deadlines to finalize the proposal after oil refiners including HF Sinclair Corp (DINO.N) and Phillips 66 (PSX.N) warned that a patchwork approach to approving E15 sales would complicate fuel supply logistics and raise the risk of spot shortages.
U.S. gasoline typically contains 10% ethanol.
The two sources familiar with the administration’s thinking, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House decided to delay action on the matter following the oil industry’s warnings in part because of concern that higher pump prices in certain states could hurt Biden’s re-election chances.
White House and EPA officials declined to comment on the matter.
Ethanol, a domestically produced alternative fuel most commonly made from corn, is cheaper by volume than gasoline. Adding more of it to the fuel mix can lower prices by increasing overall supply. But the U.S. government restricts sales of E15 gasoline in summer months due to environmental concerns over smog.
The ethanol industry for years has pushed to lift the restrictions on E15 sales nationwide, arguing the environmental impacts have been overstated.
Nebraska and Iowa sued the EPA in August for missing its statutory deadlines on the request by the governors. In its October response, the EPA did not deny it that missed the deadlines and did not offer an explanation.
The oil and ethanol lobbies have produced dueling studies that show how allowing E15 in some states would impact prices, with predictable results. Oil industry-backed studies showed price increases, while ethanol industry-backed studies showed any price increases offset by utilizing lower-cost ethanol.
University of Houston energy economist Ed Hirs said the average U.S. consumer does not understand oil markets, leaving the White House and Biden’s re-election campaign vulnerable to accusations that approving the requests by the governors caused fuel prices to spike, even if something else was to blame.
“There is an unwritten rule that high gas prices mean the incumbent won’t get re-elected,” Hirs said.
Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Will Dunham
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Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland walk holding the 2023-24 budget, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
OTTAWA, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Following are some of the commitments the Canadian government made in its Fall Economic Statement released on Tuesday.
*invest an additional C$15 billion in new loan funding, starting in 2025-26, for the Apartment Construction Loan Program, for a total of more than C$40 billion in loan funding. This investment will support more than 30,000 additional new homes, bringing the contribution to more than 101,000 new homes supported by 2031-32.
*invest an additional C$1 billion over three years, starting in 2025-26, for the Affordable Housing Fund. This investment will support non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers to build more than 7,000 new homes by 2028.
*help remove barriers to internal labor mobility, including by leveraging federal transfers, and other funding, to encourage provinces and territories to cut the red tape that impedes the movement of workers, particularly in construction, health care and child care
*deny income tax deductions for expenses incurred to earn short-term rental income, including interest expenses, in provinces and municipalities that have prohibited short-term rentals. It will also deny income tax deductions when short-term rental operators are not compliant with the applicable provincial or municipal licensing, permitting, or registration requirements.
*propose to spend C$50 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support municipal enforcement of restrictions on short-term rentals.
*introduce a new Canadian Mortgage Charter, which outlines how financial institutions are to work to provide tailored relief and ensure payments are reasonable for borrowers.
*the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will conduct a prompt investigation of international mobile roaming charges, and will provide an update and concrete next steps in 2024.
*work with the Canadian Transportation Agency to ensure that airlines seat all children under the age of 14 next to their accompanying adult at no extra cost
*explore removing the rule that restricts Canadian pension funds from holding more than 30% of the voting shares of most corporations. It also proposes to require large federally-regulated pension plans to disclose the distribution of their investments, both by jurisdiction and asset-type per jurisdiction, to the Office of the Superintendent ofFinancial Institutions
*begin buying up to C$30 billion of Canada Mortgage Bonds, starting as early as February 2024
(Reporting by Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren)
(steve.scherer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-647-480-7889)
Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/FACTBOX
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[1/2]A logo of Brazil’s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen at their headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
HOUSTON/BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pressed the head of state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA), Jean Paul Prates, to modify the company’s 2024-2028 investment plan to prioritize local job creation, five sources told Reuters.
Lula’s requests to Prates may raise fresh fears of political interference in the company, which under previous administrations has come under pressure to boost Brazil’s economy over the concerns of private investors.
In a Nov. 9 meeting in Brasilia, Prates presented Lula with a draft of the investment plan, which is due to be unveiled at the end of this month, the sources said.
They said Lula complained about Petrobras’ lack of planned investments in Brazil’s shipbuilding industry, a sector that has long been close to his heart and which he hopes to revitalize.
Lula told Prates that Petrobras should commission 25 ships to be built in Brazilian shipyards, instead of the four currently planned.
He also complained about Petrobras hiring foreign suppliers, arguing it should instead focus on using Brazilian firms, the sources said.
Additionally, Lula asked for Petrobras to push forward completion of a fertilizer factory in Mato Grosso do Sul state by two years, so it is finished before his term ends in 2026.
Another of Lula’s suggestions was to kickstart projects currently listed in the plan as under preliminary analysis.
When asked for comment, Petrobras referred Reuters to a Nov. 8 statement, in which it said it is still finalizing its investment plan. Any eventual changes to its spending plans would follow the strategic guidance approved by the company’s board, the statement said.
Brazil’s presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Reuters reported that Petrobras’ plan will include around $100 billion in investments that the firm is both analyzing and those it has already committed to. In the previous 2023-2027 plan, Petrobras projected $78 billion in investments.
The sources said Lula’s requests will likely complicate completion of the plan before the end-November deadline. Prates is due to meet the president next week to discuss alterations.
The plan has yet to be presented for approval by Petrobras’ board.
Reporting by Sabrina Valle, Lisandra Paraguassu, Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Additional reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Roberto Samora, Gabriel Stargardter and Marguerita Choy
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LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) – World stocks fell for the first time in five sessions, oil slipped and the dollar saw a slight lift on Thursday, as markets continued to acclimatize to falling borrowing costs after nearly two years of relentless gains.
Europe’s moves saw the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) slip from a more than one-month high, Wall Street look set for an early dip, and Taiwan’s dollar rise after China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. counterpart Joe Biden agreed to reopen key military communications channels between the two superpowers.
Xi also underscored the point by saying China would not “fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone”.
Global markets have rallied sharply this month as inflation data out of the United States and parts of Europe, such as Britain, have reinforced hopes that major central banks are now done raising borrowing costs.
Robust U.S. retail sales figures on Wednesday were a reminder that it might not be a straight line move, however, with the focus now squarely on weekly U.S. jobless claims data later and a monthly euro zone inflation print on Friday.
“If you don’t get confirmation of the slowing economic direction from every single piece of data every single day we risk running out of momentum on the big trades,” Societe Generale FX strategist, Kit Juckes, said.
“Until we get to the point where rate cuts are just around the corner, everything is going to be very stop-start. The dollar sell-off is stop-start, the bond market rally is really stop-start and the equity market is all over the place.”
Key government bond market borrowing costs resumed their broad downward trend on Thursday, driven by increasing confidence that rate cuts are coming next year.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield dipped to 2.62% but held above the previous day’s two-month low of 2.568%, while sterling sank to a six-month low against the euro as dealers in London inched closer their predictions on when the Bank of England (BoE) will start cutting rates. EUR/GVD
Many now think it might be as soon as May although BoE policymaker Meg Greene warned on Thursday that investors are missing the message that central banks have been pushing recently that interest rates will remain higher for longer.
“I think markets globally haven’t really clocked on to this,” Greene told Bloomberg Television, adding that the BoE was not talking about cutting rates.
CHINA PROPERTY
Asian stocks fell overnight as new Chinese data showed continued weakness in its problem-hit property sector which dented recent optimism about a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
While data this week showed China’s industrial and retail sectors are now making a comeback, figures have also shown a sharp drop in property investment and weak home prices, underscoring the ongoing drag the sector is having.
There was mixed news from Japan too, where exports grew for a second straight month in October but at a sharply slower pace due to slumping China-bound shipments of chips and steel.
“The weak economic data from both countries indicate the fact that the global economy is slowing down, highlighting ongoing macro headwinds that businesses face,” said Tina Teng, market analyst at CMC Markets.
XI AND BIDEN
Australian shares (.AXJO) ended their day down 0.7% as strong wage data indicated that inflationary pressures there are still running high.
Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) dipped 0.3%, moving into reverse after it, along with the main MSCI Asian and emerging market indexes, all posted their biggest gains in a year on Wednesday.
Chinese stocks showed some disappointment at Xi and Biden’s first meeting in years, with Shanghai’s blue-chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) closing down 1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (.HSI) ending 1.3% lower.
While the two leaders agreed to resume military-to-military communications and cooperate on anti-drug policies, a sign ties are improving, some investors were disappointed at a lack of other breakthroughs in the talks.
The MSCI main 47-country global stocks index (.MIWD00000PUS) was down for the first time in five sessions after a near 8% surge this month.
Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly weaker start there too, although there was modest relief that the Senate had overwhelmingly approved a temporary funding measure to avert another U.S. government shutdown for now.
Money market traders have now fully priced in that the Federal Reserve will keep U.S. interest rates steady in December. They see the first rate cut of the cycle in May.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was back under 4.5% compared with its U.S. close of 4.537% on Wednesday. The two-year yield hovered at 4.88% compared with a U.S. close of 4.916%.
In currencies, the euro was flat at $1.0848, having gained 2.5% in a month, while the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was fractionally higher.
Oil traders, meanwhile, nudged U.S. crude down 0.3% to $76.55 a barrel. Brent crude was at $80.90 per barrel while safe-haven gold was slightly higher at $1,965 per ounce .
Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Potter
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Exxon Mobil logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
JAKARTA, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs has signed an initial agreement with Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) to explore potential investment in a petrochemical project in the country, the ministry said in a statement.
The potential project is expected to produce polymer and may utilise carbon storage facility Exxon is currently reviewing with state oil company Pertamina, it said.
The agreement was signed during Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo’s U.S. trip this week.
During the same trip, Pertamina and Exxon also agreed to move ahead with their evaluation to invest over $2 billion for carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities using two basins in the Java Sea, Pertamina said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
The CCS hub has the potential to store at least 3 gigatons of carbon emitted by carbon-intensive industries in Indonesia and the rest of the region, Pertamina Chief Executive Nicke Widyawati said.
Jack Williams, senior vice president at Exxon Mobil, said Exxon and Pertamina have the potential to reduce emissions and support economic growth in Indonesia.
Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina; Editing by Tom Hogue
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The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, October 30, 2023. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland
Chip stocks gave Asian equity investors some small bit of cheer to start the week, picking up where Wall Street left off while U.S. yields stayed subdued, which kept a lid on the dollar, too.
But elsewhere, bears were firmly in control.
A lot of that can likely be traced to China, rather than to the Moody’s downgrade to the outlook for the U.S. sovereign debt rating, which investors have taken in stride.
The Chinese consumer has so far refused to ride to the rescue of the world’s second-largest economy. Monthly retail sales data is due on Wednesday but the country’s Singles Day shopping extraganza over the weekend – equivalent to Black Friday sales elsewhere – recorded only meagre growth.
Looking across the region, Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei managed to keep its head above water, buoyed by gains for its two biggest chip-related shares; Taiwan’s benchmark advanced 0.8%.
But Hong Kong flipped from early gains to a loss of about 0.15%. A sub-index of tech shares remained firmly positive but another of mainland property developers slumped more than 1%.
China’s blue chips fell 0.5%.
U.S. retail sales data is also due on Wednesday, preceded by CPI a day earlier. The figures could be key in helping the Federal Reserve to plot the path ahead for interest rates, including whether another hike is needed.
The Fed’s rhetoric has taken a hawkish turn recently, but markets so far are more focused on the data, particularly the soft non-farm payrolls numbers at the start of this month.
ECB President Christine Lagarde last week said that rates will stay restrictive at least for several quarters. Lagarde deputy Luis de Guindos has his say a little later today, giving the keynote speech to kick off Euro Finance Week.
Elswhere, Bank of England board member Catherine L. Mann will take the podium, after the bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said last week its projection that monetary policy will need to remain restrictive for an extended period should not be taken as a promise.
Key developments that could influence markets on Monday:
-ECB’s de Guindos, BoE’s Mann speak
-UK Rightmove house prices
-Sweden SEB housing
-New York Fed consumer expectations survey
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Edmund Klamann
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A piece of equipment called a distributor used to hold trays of limestone for capturing carbon is seen at the Heirloom Carbon Technologies facility in Brisbane, California, U.S. February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Frandino/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Nov 9 (Reuters) – California climate technology company Heirloom on Thursday unveiled what is says is the first U.S. commercial plant to suck planet-warming carbon dioxide from the air, a milestone in the effort to scale up nascent carbon removal technologies and hit global climate goals.
Scientists expect the world will need to remove billions of tonnes of carbon-dioxide from the air annually. Direct Air Capture such as that used by Heirloom can secure the CO2, but it is not yet clear whether it can do so at a price that makes the technology practical.
The new facility, which uses crushed limestone to capture 1,000 tonnes a year, is part of a ramp up that Heirloom says will cut costs. Current industry prices for carbon removal by direct air capture are around $600-$1,000 a tonne, one person familiar with the situation said.
Some of Heirloom’s first sales for capture and storage, in 2021, were more than $2,000 per tonne, and the U.S. government is aiming eventually for $100 a tonne.
The new plant, about an hour and a half from San Francisco Bay in Tracy, California, has tall stacks of trays holding limestone open to the air. The rock naturally absorbs CO2 and Heirloom has treated it to do so in a few days. Rock that has captured CO2 is heated with renewable energy to release the gas, and then reused. Heirloom works with startup CarbonCure to store the gas from the new plant in concrete.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who was due to visit the site on Thursday, in a statement called the plant a blueprint for beating climate change. The Department of Energy is spending billions in grants to built Direct Air Capture demonstration hubs. Heirloom is one of the winners of the largest tier grant.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N), another hub grant winner, aims to marry acquired DAC technology with its own expertise managing resources underground, where most of the carbon dioxide is expected to be stored.
BlackRock Inc, the world’s biggest money manager, on Tuesday said it will invest $550 million in Occidental’s West Texas plant.
Reporting By Peter Henderson
Editing by Marguerita Choy
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A man looks at an electric board displaying the Nikkei stock average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Asian share markets rallied on Thursday and the dollar firmed, even as global investors again sold off the troubled mainland Chinese property sector.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.1%, and is up 4.3% so far this month.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes reached 4.4902% compared with their U.S. close of 4.508% on Wednesday.
The two-year yield , which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.9277% compared with a U.S. close of 4.936%.
Australian shares (.AXJO) were up 0.26%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index (.N225) rose 1.53%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) reversed an early gain and was down 0.25% in the afternoon while China’s bluechip CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was 0.1% higher.
China’s troubled property sector is being closely watched on Thursday after most major stocks rallied one day earlier following a Reuters report that Ping An Insurance Group had been asked by the Chinese authorities to take a controlling stake in Country Garden Holdings (2007.HK) .
A spokesperson for Ping An (601318.SS) said the company had not been approached by the government and denied the Reuters report that cited four sources familiar with the plan.
The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (.HSMPI) shed 3.73% on Thursday and the Hang Seng Properties Index (.HSNP), which covers Hong Kong developers, was down 0.7%.
“I think for equities investors, they are still shying away from Chinese property because there are so many unknowns,” said Jason Lui, BNP Paribas’s Head of APAC Equity & Derivative Strategy.
“It’s difficult to ask investors to go back to pre-property downturn days, fundamentally property is going to play a very different role in Chinese economic development going forward.
“Property needs to stop being a drag on GDP and sentiment so investors can move on to the real growth drivers.”
In early European trades, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.1%, German DAX futures were down 0.05%, FTSE futures were down 0.16% at 7,401.5,
U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , were down 0.06% at 4,396.8.
Chinese inflation figures for October published on Thursday showed a 0.1% decline compared to September and a 0.2% fall from one year, according to official statistics.
The dollar dropped 0.03% against the yen to 150.93 . It is moving back towards its high this year of 151.74 on Oct. 31.
The European single currency was up 0.0% on the day at $1.0708, having gained 1.25% in a month, while the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up at 105.51.
The dollar has rebounded from last week’s sharp sell-off on rising confidence the Fed has ended raising rates. There is less agreement on whether a rate cut is on the horizon with inflation still above the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 (.SPX) rose 0.10% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 0.08%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.12%.
The S&P 500 rose for the eighth consecutive day, extending its longest win streak in two years.
The Federal Reserve last week kept the benchmark overnight interest rate in the current 5.25%-5.50% range and the central bank is due to meet again mid next month.
The U.S weekly jobless claims published on Thursday will be closely watched as an indicator of the how the country’s labour market is performing. Economists predict claims will reach 219,000 after coming in at 217,000 last week.
Oil prices slid over 2% on Wednesday to their lowest in more than three months on concerns over waning demand in the U.S. and China.
In Asian trading Thursday, U.S. crude ticked up 0.15% to $75.44 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $79.68 per barrel.
Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold was traded at $1948.9332 per ounce.
Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates
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