Global market sentiment remains low, with weak US and European stocks leading the way. With central banks in the United States and Europe painting a bleak picture of the economy and a persistent slowdown in economic activity in China, investor sentiment in the Asia stock market has remained low.
Crude oil prices have also fallen dramatically over the last week. Brent Crude has dropped more than 4% and is currently trading around $81 due to a weak demand forecast. On the other hand, gold prices have begun to rise again.
Let’s look at how the top Asian indexes performed during the week.
Nikkie 225
The lack of positive economic indicators continues to hurt the Japanese stock market. The momentum remains largely negative as the country struggles to revive growth. In the first quarter of 2024 (Jan to March), the economy fell faster than expected, shrinking by 2% annually.
Traders are now looking forward to July’s Services PMI numbers. A higher Services PMI would raise investors’ expectations of a July Bank of Japan rate hike.
The services sector employs more than 70% of Japan’s workforce. Rising service sector activity would increase employment, boosting wage growth and consumer spending. The week starting 22nd July 2024, the Nikkei 225 has been trading with a negative e-bias. The index has been down by about 4.34% in the last week.
The daily chart of the Nikkei 225 index shows that it has turned from the 41,000 level and is going south, as it failed to gain enough buying momentum. The 39,000 level below looks to be a strong support level for the index. If the market finds it too difficult to gain upside momentum and breaks its immediate support at the 39,000 level, then the next major support is at the 37,000 level.
The sectors driving the market down are Producer Manufacturing, Consumer Durables, and Electronic Technology.
Stocks | Last 7 Days Gains (in %) |
Tokyo Electron | 14.57 |
Disco Corporation | 12.46 |
Hitachi | 7.2 |
SONY | 5.99 |
Misthubisi Heavy Industries | 5.58 |
Hang Seng
China’s GDP increased by 4.7% year on year in the second quarter of 2024, falling short of expectations and slowing from 5.3% growth in the first quarter.
On Monday, July 22, the People’s Bank of China surprised the market by announcing policy measures to boost the Chinese economy. Loan prime rate and Reserve Requirement Ratio cuts focused on Beijing’s worries over slower-than-expected growth in the second quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, Hang Seng continues to trade on a bearish note. The index has been making lower lows and lower highs on the daily chart, signaling a downtrend. And it has also broken below the 17,500 level, a critical support level. The next major support is at around 17,180 and 16,500 levels.
Energy Minerals, Technology Services, Producer Manufacturing, and Consumer Non-Durable stocks were the top losers of the week.
Hang Seng Top losers in the last week
Stocks | Last 7 Days Gains (in %) |
Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd | 14.55 |
PetroChina | 11.13 |
CNOOC Limited | 7.62 |
China Resources Land | 7.48 |
Nongfu Spring Co Ltd | 5.38 |
Nifty 50
The Indian stock market was highly volatile during the past week because of mixed global signals and the new government’s first union budget. Because of the increased volatility, the Nifty 50 returned from 24,854.80 (its all-time level) this week.
However, overall momentum continues to be positive. The improving outlook of the major IT companies contributed to the index’s growth in the past few sessions. This week, both the Nifty 50 and Sensex hit fresh record highs. However, in the last five trading sessions, the Nifty 50 has been slightly lower by 0.59%.
Looking at the daily chart of Nifty 50, the index failed to move higher and made its all-time high level as a new resistance. To resume the upside trajectory, it must clear above this level with solid momentum. Below, the 24,230 level is likely to support the index strongly. On RSI, we can see that the current upside momentum is weakening.
Like the global market, the Energy, Minerals, and Finance sectors are the top losers, while the IT sector stocks gained the most.
The Top Gainers in The Last Week
Stocks | Last 7 Days Gains (in %) |
Titan | 8.37 |
ITC | 8.02 |
Infosys | 6.57 |
HUL | 3.72 |
TCS | 3.48 |
The Top Losers in the last one week
Stocks | Last 7 Days Loss (in %) |
Bajaj Finance | 7.45 |
Reliance | 6.96 |
Shriram Finance | 5.54 |
Axis Bank | 4.47 |
Kotak Mahindra Bank | 3.59 |
Conclusion
As markets navigate these challenging times, investors will likely stay cautious, closely watching economic indicators, central bank actions, and corporate earnings. The next few weeks will be crucial in determining whether the markets can regain their footing or continue on a downward trajectory.
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I’m Archana R. Chettiar, an experienced content creator with
an affinity for writing on personal finance and other financial content. I
love to write on equity investing, retirement, managing money, and more.