- Asian stocks are facing the heat of poor global PMIs.
- A massive decline in the US Services PMI has trimmed the global IT forecasts.
- Oil prices have advanced sharply led by the production cut announcement by OPEC.
Markets in the Asian domain have witnessed a decent sell-off as investors have turned cautious after the release of the weak Purchasing managers Index (PMI) data by Western leaders. The contraction of the private sector in various economies after a spree of rate hikes by Western central banks has forced the market participants to stick to growth stocks in order to combat the turbulence.
At the press time, Japan’s Nikkei225 eased 0.47%, China A50 surrendered 0.58%, and Hang Seng plummeted 1.45%. However, Nifty50 has defended the downside momentum and has turned flat after a weak opening.
A meaningful contraction in the US economic activities has created havoc in the global economy. The US Services PMI has contracted dramatically to 44.1 against the forecast of an expansion to 49.2 and the prior release of 47.3. Also, the Manufacturing PMI has contracted to 51.3 from the estimates of 52 and the prior release of 52.2. What is worrisome for the global economy is the dramatic decline in Services activities. This has trimmed the forecast for the global IT sector substantially as the US outsources its substantial IT services from Asia.
Meanwhile, rising oil prices after the commentary from OPEC that the cartel is considering a decent production cut in oil to offset the recent decline has dampened the market sentiment. For OPEC, lower prices are always an imbalance as it scales down their revenues and higher prices are optimal. The oil prices have established above $93.00 and more upside seems possible.
