Japan’s Nikkei falls 3% as inflation declines; Asian markets decline after the explosions that occurred in Iran

Safe-haven assets rose after reports of unconfirmed explosions in Iran, with the country’s Fars news agency reporting that explosions were heard near the airport in the central city of Isfahan, but the cause was unknown.

Spot gold prices rose to a new all-time high of 2,411.09 per ounce, while the yen strengthened 0.45% to 153.93 against the US dollar.

Bitcoin prices fell 1.44% to $60,186, according to Coin Metrics data.

– Lim Hui Ji

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell as much as 3%, mainly dragged by electronics and manufacturing stocks.

The biggest loser on the Nikkei index was semiconductor equipment company Lasertec, which fell by 7.5%.

Other stocks on the list of biggest losers included its counterpart Tokyo Electron, as well as Screen Holdings, which also fell more than 7%.

Japan’s headline inflation rate was 2.7% in March, down from 2.8% recorded in February.

Core inflation in the country was 2.6%, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters and down from 2.8% in February.

The so-called “core” measure of inflation used by the Bank of Japan came in at 2.9% from 3.2%, marking the first time the index has fallen below 3% since November 2022.

– Lim Hui Ji

The recent stock sell-off has sparked some oversold signals, according to Chris Ferrone, head of technical and macro research at Strategas.

It is currently trading about 30% above the 50-day moving average, near the 20% range “worth targeting in uptrends,” he wrote in a note on Thursday.

“Yesterday’s wave in buy/hold ratios + the recent increase in short S&P ETF volumes caught our attention, as price action began to influence behavior,” Ferrone said.

Certainly, market leadership is ultimately more important, he noted. Facilities are starting to improve significantly even as interest rates rise, which Fearon thinks is worth keeping an eye on.

“The most important question on our minds is what character the leadership takes on any bounce, and whether the pro-cyclical tone that has prevailed over most of the last six months can resume? Discretionary commodities versus commodities have consolidated but are in peak territory.” Selling… “It is important that there is a positive response over the coming weeks,” Veron said.

— Hakyung Kim

Wall Street may be wrong in hoping that the recent rise in inflation is a glitch rather than a longer, more worrying trend, according to MRB Partners.

“The prevailing consensus is that the recent rise in inflation is an anomaly, and that inflation will return to its low pre-pandemic rate in the future,” the company wrote on Wednesday. “The last three CPI reports support the MRB’s view that the consensus is wrong.”

Instead, inflation is likely to be between 3% and 4%, according to the MRB. The company notes that the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, will “accelerate again later in the year.”

“Contrary to the Fed and consensus, we believe that ultimately economic growth matters a great deal to inflation,” the independent research firm said.

– Brian Evans

Bitcoin mining stocks rose on Thursday ahead of the impending “halving” event, which will cut their main revenue stream in half and is expected to happen in the next couple of days.

Marathon Digital rose 7%, Riot Platforms rose more than 4%, and Iris Energy rose 8%. Shares of CleanSpark, one of the only mining companies still standing this year, rose 13%.

Many publicly listed miners have been preparing for this by placing large orders for new mining equipment or increasing their electrical capacities and increasing their hash rates. However, uncertainty ahead of the halving has weighed on mining stocks, most of which are down double digits for the year.

While most public cryptocurrency miners are in a position to survive the supply shock caused by the Bitcoin halving, JPMorgan has made its top picks. For more details, read the full story here.

– Tanya Machel